A Tibetan monk set himself on fire in Qinghai on Sunday, becoming the 15th Tibetan to self-immolate on the mainland in the past year and sparking protests by hundreds of Tibetans in the process.
It was the third self-immolation by a Tibetan in 2012, following two cases near the Kirti Monastery in Aba prefecture, Sichuan, on Friday.
Xinhua reported yesterday that a monk from the Nyanmo Monastery in Darlag county died after setting himself on fire early on Sunday morning at an intersection in the town of Gyumi, the county seat.
The monk, 40-year-old Nyage Sonamdrugy, was known among local believers as the 'the Living Buddha Sopa'. His body had been returned to his relatives so they could hold a funeral, Xinhua said.
Radio Free Asia said, however, that his body was only released by police after several hundred angry Tibetans marched on the local police station to demand his remains. When their request was initially denied, they smashed the windows and door of the station. They then paraded the corpse around town.
Radio Free Asia said the monk had set himself ablaze in front of the station, shouting slogans calling for Tibet's freedom. He had earlier climbed a nearby hill and distributed leaflets saying that he was taking action 'not for personal glory but for Tibet and the happiness of Tibetans'.
He drank and threw kerosene all over his body, according to witnesses cited by the report, and his body exploded, with only the head and parts of his chest intact.