File photo of 63 year old Tenga

DHARAMSHALA: The Department of Religion and Culture, Central Tibetan Administration, will organise a prayer service at 04:00 pm on 2 December (Saturday) for Tenga who died after carrying out a self-immolation protest on 26 November this year in Kardze, eastern Tibet.

The President of Central Tibetan Administration Dr Lobsang Sangay will on behalf of CTA offer condolence to the deceased and his family at the prayer service.

It was reported that Tenga has raised calls for freedom in Tibet while burning. Minutes into the self-immolation protest, police quickly arrived at the scene and took away the charred body which hasn’t been returned to the family yet. Reports also confirm heavy military presence, deployment of police and crackdown on communications in Kardze.

Despite the Central Tibetan Administration’s repeated appeals not to resort to drastic actions such as self-immolation, at least 150 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in protest inside Tibet since 2009.