A 21-year-old man died in Chennai on Friday after immolating himself during protests against Karnataka over the Cauvery water-sharing dispute.
Vignesh, a member of the fringe group Naam Tamilar Katchi doused himself with petrol and set himself on fire during a rally in Chennai on Thursday against alleged violence faced by Tamils in Karnataka.
He was admitted to the Kilpauk Government Hospital on Thursday night with 93% burn wounds, and died on Friday morning. He hailed from Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district.
Vignesh had, in suicide note later, written about the imposition of Sanskrit in Tamil Nadu, as well as the ongoing Cauvery dispute. The protest was led by party leader N Seeman.
The death comes on a day when the state is observing a day-long bandh that has seen the detention of top leaders of the opposition DMK but otherwise no violence.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are locked in a bruising dispute over the quantum of Cauvery waters to be shared. The fight has seen large-scale violence across Karnataka – especially in Bengaluru – where rampaging mobs have torched vehicles and damages property worth crores.