A 15-year-old boy from the northern Indian city of Agra is currently in the hospital recovering from severe self-inflicted burns after he was teased and harassed for being gay.
He was reportedly discovered by a neighbor being intimate with a male friend in a local park.
News spread quickly, and soon the accomplished student was being publicly bullied.
The teenager ran home and locked himself in his room for two days, worrying his family.
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Then suddenly, he emerged from his home covered in diesel which he had taken from a car and set himself on fire.
Neighbors and family members rushed out when they heard him screaming, pouring water on him and covering him with a blanket.
They rushed him to the hospital, where his family now anxiously awaits his recovery. Doctors said he suffered 40% burns, most severely on his legs and chest.
“He is unable to speak properly. The doctors say he is out of danger but I will only believe it when my son will talk to me,” said the victim’s father.
Being gay remains largely a taboo in Indian culture, and homophobia is rampant.
The Indian government classifies sex between to people of the same gender an act punishable by law.
