Jaipur: An American who fought in the Vietnam War and later inspired by Gandhian philosophy came to India five years ago committed suicide by immolating himself in an abandoned Buddhist meditation centre on the night of January 25 at the historic town of Viran Nagar, 150km from here.

His body was discovered in a hillock on Thursday by the villagers who had gone for grazing their cattle.

Jeff Kaneble, who hailed from San Fransisco, left a suicide note that said that he was killing himself because of "the flawed policies of US and India".

The suicide note further read "this is a suicide note in protest against the cruel policies of the US government and that of the Government of India. Please don't disturb my body until police comes. Documents are in the hand bag."

Police officer said 71 year-old Knaeble left behind a bag, some Gandhian literature and a passport which was not a US passport, but a passport issued by an unknown organisation "World" was found.

Mohan Singh, police superintendent said: "It was from the unrecognised passport that we came to know that Knaelble belonged to US and was living in India".

"He has left behind Rs48,000 [Dh4,000] and the suicide note said that this money should be given to the widows, poor and the farmers or needy persons.

"He had come from Jaipur four-five days ago and was moving around in Virat Nagar. We have informed the US embassy in Delhi and the charred body has been put in the morgue of the National Institute of Medical Science at Chandwaji, about 60km from Virat Nagar after postmortem."

Mohan Singh said Knaeble sought political asylum in India in June last year after he tore his American birth certificate and US passport at Rajghat before the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi on June 19, 2009.

Knaeble moved an application with the Supreme Court after he was denied the Indian citizenship by the Indian government.

Later the Supreme Court allowed him to file a proper application with the Indian government for citizenship and he was awaiting the reply from the Indian government when he committed suicide by immolating himself using chemicals.

Knaeble was married to Delia Maria, a US woman who is currently living in Pune, but Knaeble had separated himself and left his Pune home and never contacted his wife.

The wife lives in a house on Pune's Airport Road. She is associated with Friends of Gandhi Mueseum and does other social work.

Knaeble was living in Himachal Pradesh and was associated with Gandhi Ashram at Shimla and was living there since 1995 and often travelled to Jaipur.

In June 2009, he along with his Gandhian friends assembled at Rajghat in Delhi and issued a declaration of renunciation and severance of US nationality.

His declaration read: "I, Jeff Knaeble, hereby make this Declaration of Severance and Dissolution of all bonds between myself and the Government of the United States of America. I renounce my birth certificate — I renounce my citizenship — and reject all claims of whatsoever nature made by the United States against me. I am not government property."