NEW DELHI, July 2, 2006 (AFP) - A 15-year-old boy died Sunday from burns after he had set himself on fire because he was humiliated over his parents' HIV infections, Indian police said.
The boy torched himself last week in the western state of Gujarat.
"He was mentally tormented as he could not face the humiliation owing to both his parents being HIV-positive," police Inspector C.M. Mudaliar told the Press Trust of India news agency.
After his parents were declared HIV-positive two years ago, the boy stopped attending school regularly. Police did not say what kind of humiliation the boy was subjected to.
People with AIDS/HIV are sometimes denied access to schools and hospitals and even ostracised for fear of spreading the virus.
Last month the Geneva-based UNAIDS said India had 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS -- the highest figure in the world, ahead of South Africa where the figure stood at 5.5 million.
India disputed the figure, saying the number is 5.2 million.
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