by Zara Mustapha

Like a scene from a bizarre movie,  a television debate ended in horror when one of the spectators sef himself on fire before embracing a politician, they are both fighting for their lives.

The man, identified by the police as Durgesh Kumar Singh was said to have popped out of the crowd before dousing himself with petrol then grabbed the local leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Kamruzzama Fauji.

According to the police the burns sustained by Singh were up to 95 per cent while Fauji sustained up to 75 per cent burns and are currently in critical condition

Daily Mail reports:

The election show on India’s state-owned national TV channel Doordarshan was being pre-recorded in a park on Monday in Sultanpur, a town around 100 miles from the city of Lucknow.

‘This man suddenly came on the stage, poured petrol on himself and set himself on fire before tightly hugging one of the political guests,’ local photographer Pankaj Kumar Gupta told AFP.

‘People were just too shocked to know what was happening,’ said Gupta, whose photos show the men engulfed in flames with spectators fleeing the scene.

Two other local politicians taking part in the show, Ram Kumar Singh and Chowdhary Hriday Ram Verma, sustained minor burns while trying to save the pair.

‘The injured were first admitted to the district hospital here (in Sultanpur) and were then referred to Lucknow,’ a police statement said.

The motive for the incident was unknown.

D.N Moghe, deputy director general for Doordarshan’s state headquarter in Lucknow described it as a ‘shocking’ incident.

‘This is a sad and shocking event during our roadshow debate whose programme format is similar to other news channels during this election season,’ Moghe said.

‘The reason why the man set himself on fire is being investigated by the authorities,’ he added.

India’s numerous television channels are holding nightly debate shows during the parliamentary elections.