Bhubaneswar: A 55-year-old farmer alleged died by suicide while protesting at Shambhu border point between Punjab and Haryana on Thursday.
The deceased has been identified as Resham Singh of Pahu Wind village in Tarn Taran district. He was rushed to a government hospital at Rajpura, Patiala district. He was then referred to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, where he succumbed.
According to reports, the deceased farmer had been sitting at Shambu for the past 10 days and was upset with the central government for not resolving the issues despite their protracted protest.. “At around 9.30 AM, Resham Singh reached the langar site of farmers at Shambu and experienced emesis, following which he revealed that he had consumed poison. He was rushed to the hospital in Rajpura but was referred to the govt Rajindra hospital in Patiala, where he succumbed. The deceased farmer gave a dying declaration and held the Modi government responsible for not responding to farmers’ demands and also for Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s deteriorating condition due to his fast-unto-death over farmers’ demands,” TOI reported, quoting Sarwan Singh Pandher, a Kisan Mazdur Morcha leader.
The farmers have been protesting at the Shambhu border for almost a year now, pressing the Centre to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for the crops.
On Tuesday, farmer leaders had warned that the Centre might not be able to handle the situation if something untoward happens to Dallewal. “God forbid if anything untoward happens to Dallewal ji, then perhaps the situation may not remain under control of the Central government,” farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar was quoted by PTI as saying.
