Student sets himself ablaze after alleged humiliation over unpaid fees in UP college

A second-year BA student in Muzaffarnagar’s Budhana set himself on fire on his college campus on November 8 after he was allegedly denied permission to submit his examination form over unpaid fees.

Ujjwal Rana, 20, suffered more than 70% burns and is currently undergoing treatment at a Delhi hospital.

A video statement recorded two days before the incident has emerged in which Ujjwal accuses the principal and three policemen of assaulting, abusing, and publicly humiliating him for failing to clear the remaining ₹7,000 of his college fees. He had reportedly managed to pay ₹1,700.

According to sources, Ujjwal was refused clearance for his third-semester examination earlier in the week. At around 11.30 am on Saturday, he doused himself in an inflammable liquid and set himself ablaze on campus.

Videos circulating on social media show him engulfed in flames as fellow students rush to help. Eyewitnesses and family members — now protesting against the college administration — allege that no staff member intervened and that Ujjwal lay writhing in pain for nearly 30 minutes before police arrived.

Ujjwal was first taken to a local hospital, then referred to Meerut, and later shifted to Delhi as his condition deteriorated.

In his video testimony, Ujjwal alleges that the principal pulled his hair, beat him, and taunted him in front of others, telling him the institution “is not a dharamshala.” He further claims the administration summoned police when he spoke up for other students facing fee-related issues. “Even the policemen abused me and pushed me out of the college,” he says in the recording. He adds that if anything happened to him, the principal and three policemen should be held responsible.

Ujjwal hails from Khakaroban village. His father, Harendra, is a sugarcane farmer with 13 bighas of land; his mother died a few years ago.

Late November 8 evening, Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Umesh Mishra and Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjai Kumar Verma visited the college and ordered a thorough inquiry.

Budhana police have registered a case based on a complaint filed by Ujjwal’s sister, Saloni, naming the principal and others. “The student used an inflammable substance before setting himself ablaze. Strict action will be taken against anyone found responsible for instigating him,” said Budhana CO Gajendra Pal Singh, adding that Ujjwal is currently out of danger and two sub-inspectors have been deployed for his security.

Responding to allegations of police assault, SSP Muzaffarnagar Sanjai Kumar said the SPRA has been tasked with probing the conduct of the officers named by Ujjwal. “If their involvement is confirmed, strict action will follow,” he said.