A 40-year-old man set himself on fire near the the Tallakulam police station in Madurai on Thursday, after he was allegedly upset over the lack of permission to light a lamp on the stone pillar atop Thiruparankundram hill.
The victim identified as Poorna Chandran, a resident of the Narimedu area succumbed to severe burn injuries shortly after he set himself ablaze.
As per reports, the incident took place around 3.30 pm inside a CCTV monitoring room attached to the police station after he locked himself inside. Bystanders noticed smoke emitting from inside and alerted fire and rescue service personnel, who rushed to the spot and found his charred body.
A few audio clips, reportedly recorded by Chandran before his death, circulated soon after the incident. In the recordings, he stated that he chose to self-immolate near the Periyar statue in the city rather than at Thirupparankundram, in order to avoid bringing any perceived dishonor to the temple.
Saravanan, an advocate and friend of Chandran who received the audio clips, said that Chandran was distressed over the authorities’ refusal to allow the lighting of the lamp on the stone pillar, despite the directive from the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
His brother Ramadurai confirmed the message to the media, stating that Poorna Chandran, a regular visitor to sacred sites like Sathuragiri, had not indicated such extreme intentions.
He is survived by his wife and two young children. He said that Chandran left home in the morning for work. The family received a call in the evening informing them that he had set himself ablaze.
“He had sent a voice message to his friend who sent it to me and I got to know only after that. He apparently told that he is going to self-immolate for not letting Deepam to be lit at Thirupparankundram,” the brother said.
BJP Tamil Nadu President Nainar Nagenthiran criticized the DMK government over the incident, saying that Poorna Chandran ended his life by self-immolation as he was “deeply anguished by the DMK Government’s anti-Hindu stance, particularly its refusal to allow devotees to light the sacred Karthigai Deepam on the Deepa Thoon atop the Thiruparangundram Hill.”
He appealed to devotees to remain calm, exercise patience, and refrain from taking extreme actions.
Thirupparankundram hill in Madurai, one of the six sacred abodes (Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan, houses the ancient Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple at its base. The hilltop also features the Sikandar Badushah Dargah, a Muslim shrine.
Hindu devotees and petitioners have long argued that the Karthigai Deepam should be lit at the historic Deepathoon pillar near the dargah as a traditional practice. On December 1, 2025, Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench directed the temple administration, under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, to light the lamp there in addition to the usual locations.
Despite the court order, the DMK government did not permit the ritual and reportedly used force to prevent devotees from reaching the site.
Authorities lit the lamp only at the Uchipillaiyar Temple mandapam, citing longstanding custom, potential law-and-order concerns, and claims that the pillar is a Jain-era structure (Samana Deepathoon) not traditionally associated with the festival.
The government has appealed the High Court order, and in the latest hearing, its counsel strongly opposed allowing Hindus to light the sacred lamp at the disputed pillar.
