Chennai: After finding out that his daughter was in a relationship with a 19-year-old college student in their neighbourhood, Srinivasan of Kamarajapuram in Tambaram had warned both of them, asking the teenagers to stay away from each other. But a few days ago, his daughter and the boy went missing, following which Srinivasan filed a complaint at the Selaiyur police station.

Since then, Srinivasan used to visit the station frequently to find out if there was any progress in the police’s efforts to trace her. Dejected over the police’s failure to trace her, Srinivasan came out of the Selaiyur police station on Saturday and poured a bottle of petrol on himself, and set himself on fire.

Hearing his cries, police officials and the public rushed to his rescue. They doused the fire and immediately took Srinivasan to Chromepet government hospital. As he had suffered 70 per cent burns, he was referred to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. The Selaiyur police have registered a case.