Inside the Nizamabad police station’s interrogation hall, Polasa Sudhakar, the owner of a small hotel near Bheemgal Bus Stand, poured petrol over himself and ignited it at about 10 a.m. on Monday morning.
He had been brought to the station after the police had fined him three times for operating past 10 p.m., a practice he claimed was common among local eateries.
Police officers extinguished the blaze within minutes and rushed him to a nearby hospital in Armoor, where doctors assessed his condition as critical and administered first aid.
Sudhakar’s wife and a handful of relatives gathered outside the station that afternoon, chanting for justice and pressing senior officials to investigate alleged harassment.
A fresh case has been registered against the police, and the court is slated to hear the matter next month, while authorities have yet to release an official statement.