Lucknow, Dec 30 (IANS): In a shocking incident, a young woman immolated herself in full public view near the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS).

According to an eyewitness, Rahul Pal, the woman came on a red scooty and parked it near a roadside eatery. She walked a few steps and doused herself with petrol before setting the fire. She turned into a ball of flame within seconds and began running around before collapsing on the ground.

"We informed the police and she was taken to the hospital," he said. The entire incident that took place late Tuesday was recorded in a CCTV camera installed nearby.

The doctors declared her brought dead.

The deceased was identified as 28-year-old Saumya with the help of the registration papers in her scooty, said ACP Beenu Singh.

"The woman is an engineer and a resident of Sitapur. We informed her family about the incident and her father, Munna Lal arrived later in the night. He identified the body. The father could not say what made his daughter take the extreme step. The body has been sent for post mortem," the ACP said.

Sitapur is barely two hours away from the state capital.

Munna Lal told reporters that his daughter seemed upset on Tuesday afternoon but when he asked her, she did not say anything. Later, she left home saying that she was going for an outing. She had left her mobile phone and purse at home.