TOBA TEK SINGH: An under-trial suspect suffered burns when he self-immolated in a police van outside the district courts complex in Faisalabad on Friday.

Suspect Muhammad Qasim said he took the extreme step because he was being tortured in police custody.

He was the sole breadwinner for his six sisters and mother, leaving him with no alternative but to resort to self-immolation.

A police spokesperson said Qasim from D Type Colony was involved in eight theft cases registered against him by the Samanabad police between March and August.

In a police van, his mother Sajida Bibi handed him what she claimed was a water bottle, but it turned out to be petrol.

Qasim doused his clothes with petrol, and his mother ignited them using a match. The police managed to extinguish the fire, but not before constable Muhammad Waleed sustained burns on his hand.

Both the suspect and the constable were taken to the DHQ hospital for treatment. Correspondent