The victim, Abhishek Kumar Choubey, is admitted in the ICU of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital with 98 per cent burns, police officials said in the evening.

His request to meet Manmohan Singh turned down by security personnel over the past five days, Choubey reportedly walked into the South Block at 3.25 pm, poured kerosene over himself and set himself ablaze in protest.

A TV news channel cameraperson, who was present there at the time and zoomed in on him, said Choubey claimed to be a computer professional based in Kuwait and had come home recently. “He said he came to Delhi five days ago, and went to meet the Prime Minister at his residence all five days. But the security guards apparently did not let me in,” the cameraperson (name withheld on request) told Newsline.

Choubey, however, did not tell the photojournalist the issue over which he needed to meet the Prime Minister.

The cameraperson said one of the autorickshaw drivers moving around the area finally put a blanket on Choubey and called the police — this was at 3.50 pm.