A Buddhist monk has been arrested in China for allegedly "fabricating" the suicide of a Tibetan herdsman into a case of self-immolation protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet.
Cerzha, 25, a Tibetan monk in Qumarleb County in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai Province, was arrested by police and faces charges of inciting sedition, the Yushu prefectural public security bureau said.
He confessed that overseas forces encouraged him to take photos of a dead herdsman and send them to others, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the bureau as saying.
About 119 Tibetans have set themselves afire in different places, which according to overseas Tibetans groups were part of protests against Chinese rule as well as to demand the return of the Dalai Lama from his self exile.
In a recent crackdown, Chinese police have arrested several people including Buddhist monks alleging that they were inciting immolations.
Police said Tendru Shilha, a herdsman in Qumarelb, died by setting himself on fire on a remote hill on May 27 after having an argument with his girlfriend.
They accused Cerzha, who was allegedly in touch with a Tibetan Monk in India, took the photos of Tendru abroad, the Xinhua report said.
Cerzha sent the photos to Tsultrim Yeshe via Weixin, a popular instant messaging application then destroyed his SIM card.
Overseas organisations advocating "Tibetan independence" immediately hyped the incident and attacked the ethnic and religious policies of the Chinese government, the report said.
Overseas media released reports about the case, with some claiming that Tendru was the first self-immolation victim in Qumarleb County.
He Zhanlu, head of the Yushu prefectural public security bureau, said domestic and overseas forces worked together to portray the man's suicide as a self-immolation that was done in the name of "Tibetan independence".
