Gansu police have apprehended seven principal suspects, including Kalzang Gyatso, Gonpo Je and Tashi Gyatso.
Chinese police have also requested that police in relevant countries help investigate Gonpo Konchoghu via channels for international police cooperation.
But these efforts have failed to stop the flames of self-immolations from spreading further and claiming more lives.
On Oct 23, 2012, Togye Rinchen, a 58-year-old Tibetan villager, set himself on fire near a shopping center in Gannan's Xiahe county. Those who incited the self-immolation also provided pictures to the VOA.
On Jan 31, six ethnic Tibetans were sentenced to three to 12 years in prison for their roles in Togye Rinchen's self-immolation by the Xiahe County People's Court.
Located more than 70 km from the city of Hezuo, the prefectural capital, Xiahe is considered the prefecture's religious center.
After spotting the incident, police officers put out the fire, with Togye Rinchen still showing signs of life.
As police officers worked to rescue the self-immolator, some monks and people in the crowd attempted to carry him into the monastery. They attacked and injured the officers, hampering their rescue efforts.
"When I saw the self-immolator's left hand still moving, I grabbed an extinguisher and soaked quilt and tried to save him," Liu Yaguo, a police officer from the county's public security bureau, recalls. "But a crowd was already gathering. A woman tried to stop me by lashing me with a belt and a tall man beckoned more people over."
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