After struggling to survive for the last few days, Khaled Mehmood, the man who set himself alight near the Karachi Press Club because he was being threatened by a loan shark, succumbed to his injuries at the Burns Wards of the Civil Hospital on Tuesday.
“He developed respiratory tract infection, which is very common in such severe burn cases,” said Ehmer Bin Ibran, the in-charge of the Burns Ward. “Toxins produced from dead skin also led to his death,” he added.
A father of six, Khaled Mehmood burnt 97 percent of his body after he doused himself with kerosene on Wednesday and set himself on fire. The man chose to end his life after he failed to meet the deadline issued by a loan shark to whom he owed a million rupees.
His desperate act near the Karachi Press club immediately grabbed media attention and led to Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad taking notice of the incident. The governor directed his principal secretary to provide financial assistance to Khaled Mehmood.
However, family sources claimed that they did not receive any kind of financial help, with the exception of the free treatment of Khaled by the Burns Ward.
Speaking to the media, the man’s 12-year-old son pleaded with the government to pay his father’s debt as the family is not in a position to raise the massive amount.