A 26-year-old Dalit man, Jitendra Kumar, from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, died after setting himself on fire outside the Rail Bhawan near Parliament on December 25. He succumbed to over 90% burns at a Delhi hospital early on Friday.
Jitendra’s father, Mahipal Kumar, shared his grief after the loss, saying, “I feel I am dead, my family is finished. I will continue to fight against the powerful men, even if I am forced to leave my village.” He spoke shortly after cremating his son, describing how Jitendra had been trying to raise his voice after years of intimidation and injustice by an upper-caste home guard and his aides.
Jitendra had been struggling with harassment since 2021, after his father tried to stop men from selling illegal alcohol near their house in their village, Patti Dhannaan, Chhaprauli. These men were allegedly supported by Kavinder Chaudhary, a local home guard. Jitendra faced multiple “false” cases, and when he turned to the police for help, he was reportedly humiliated.
Gaurav Kumar, Jitendra’s cousin, told the Times of India: “My brother was suffering and never showed it to us. He went to Delhi to protest, but we didn’t know it would end like this.”
Jitendra even reached out to the SC/ST commission in Lucknow, but his case was dismissed without proper investigation. Gaurav added, “He wanted justice. No help came from the cops, and that’s why he took such a drastic step.”
In 2024, Mahipal was attacked when a car hit him, but he survived. Jitendra’s sister-in-law also suffered a miscarriage after an assault by the accused. Despite a case being filed under the SC/ST Act, no arrests were made, and the family continued to face intimidation.
Superintendent of Police (SP), Arpit Vijayvargiya, said the case was sensitive and promised further investigation. He added, “We’re looking into why Jitendra took such an extreme step near Parliament. His main grievance was the lack of action against those who harmed his family.”
Local BJP MP, Raj Kumar Sangwan, met Jitendra’s family and assured them of an unbiased investigation. He said, “I will take this matter up with the Chief Minister and ensure a different agency handles the case.”
