Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Sept. 11: Sandip Hati, the dismissed home guard who had set himself ablaze in front of the residence of chief minister Naveen Patnaik on September 2, died today at SCB Medical College and Hospital.

Hati had attempted suicide on September 2 alleging that he had been dismissed from the services of home guard on the false ground of taking part in a protest rally. He had claimed that though he had not taken part in the rally in 2013, the then deputy police commissioner had sacked 80 home guards, including him.

The 45-year-old former home guard, who had suffered more than 70 per cent burns, was rescued by the security staff outside Naveen Nivas and rushed to SCB. Naveen had announced free treatment for him. He had since been undergoing treatment at the hospital's ICU where he died around 5.30 this morning.

After the news of his death spread, members of the home guards' association staged a demonstration at SCB demanding compensation of Rs 10 lakh for his bereaved family. Tension also spread in Hati's ancestral village in Puri after his family members refused to accept his body. Local BJD MLA Rama Ranjan Baliarsingh has announced Rs 3 lakh assistance to the family.

Reacting to the death, leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra demanded an apology from the chief minister.

State BJP president Basant Panda said the incident exposed the callousness of the government towards the problems of the common people.

The vice-president of Cuttack Home Guard Association, Niranjan Senapati, demanded a probe into the circumstances that led to the sacking of Hati in 2013.

The association also demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and a government job for Hati's widow.