LAHORE: A Suthra Punjab programme worker, who had set himself on fire two days ago in Gujranwala in protest against non-payment of his full salary, succumbed to his critical burns here on Friday.

Identified as Zeeshan, the worker took the extreme step outside an office of Suthra Punjab after allegedly been denied payment of his full salary by the contractor.

A CCTV camera recorded footage of the employee when he was coming out of the office where he had gone to complain against the contractor.

The footage showed Zeeshan dowsing himself in petrol in the corridor of the office in the presence of some staff members and setting himself ablaze.

He took the extreme step over illegal deductions from salary

Some other employees present there rushed to save their colleague and threw water on him, the CCTV footage shows.

He was later rushed to the hospital with critical burns on various parts of his body, including the head and chest. On Friday, he succumbed to his burns during treatment.

An official says that the contractor concerned had been illegally deducting a major chunk out of the workers’ Rs21,000 monthly salary.

He says that many complaints by employees regarding the illegal pay cuts have been going unreported for the last many months.

The official says Zeeshan had told the concerned staff that his children were starving and he should be paid full salary.

The worker had also warned that he would file a written complaint to the higher authorities if he was denied his rightful wages as per the salary package announced by the Punjab government.

However, the official says that Zeeshan was manhandled by some staffers, who also threatened to sack him if he further agitated over the issue.

He added that Zeeshan paid his last visit to the office a couple of days back, where he set himself on fire in a fit of dejection.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026