In a tragic turn of event, a Sikh granthi (priest) from Karnal district in Haryana shot himself dead near Kundli border in Sonipat on Wednesday evening as a mark of protest against the three farm laws enacted by the Centre in September last.
Sant Baba Ram Singh had arrived at the border on Tuesday. Talking to ANI after his arrival to Kundli he had expressed his strong disapproval to the way the government is handling the farmers’ demands which, according to him, has the support of all sections of the society. Many award-winners are returning their medals just for the cause of farmers, he had then said.
According to reports, he on Wednesday evening asked his followers to leave him alone in his car as he wanted to offer some prayer. Later at around 5 o’ clock in the evening his body was found in the car with a pistol lying beside.
A suicide note was recovered in which he said that he is sacrificing his life for the cause of farmers. The letter said that both committing tyranny and tolerating it is wrong.
After the incident, his body was rushed to a Panipat hospital where the doctors declared him ‘brought dead’. It was then taken to Kalpana Chawla Hospital in Karnal for post mortem.
Initially, his followers opposed autopsy of the body. However, the police finally prevailed.
This is the first such case of suicide in the 21-day long farmers’ stir. However, about two dozen farmers have died of cold and heart attack in the last three weeks at various borders of Delhi.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has expressed his deep sorrow and sympathy over the suicide by Baba Ram Singh. He once again criticized the apathetic attitude of the government towards the genuine demands of the farmers.
