Updated: December 22, 2020 8:02:31 am
Farmers protest against new agricultural laws on the Gazipur border in New Delhi. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)
WITH protests against the Center’s new farm laws approaching its fourth week without any sign of resolve, a 70-year-old farmer from Tarn Taran in Punjab reportedly attempted suicide Monday morning by consuming pest control tablets shortly after come the border from Singhu to Delhi to join the turmoil.
Police identified the farmer as Niranjan Singh from Bhatal Bhai Ke village, and said he was first admitted to Sonipat Civil Hospital and then referred to the Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak.
SP (Sonipat) Jashandeep Singh Randhawa told The Indian Express that Singh’s “vital signs are stable, as of now”. A senior police officer said: “The investigating officer has recorded Niranjan Singh’s statement in which he claims that he was disturbed by the condition of farmers in the protests and the apathy of the government.
The offer comes five days after a Sikh preacher died after reportedly shooting himself with his licensed revolver in Kundli, near the Singhu border. In an alleged suicide note, the preacher, Baba Ram Singh, said he was hurt by the plight of the farmers.
In Niranjan Singh village, members of his family said they were shocked by the suicide attempt because he had no financial problems and was “a very religious man.” Singh is the father of five children, one of whom died in the early 1990s, and the family owns about 25 acres of land.
Singh’s granddaughter, Mandeep Kaur, said she called her last night and “asked about my children.” “He didn’t seem depressed. I was surprised when I found out about his suicide attempt … We are not in debt. There is nothing that is bothering the family financially or otherwise, ”he said.
Police sources said Singh consumed celph tablets after writing a note in Gurmukhi, in which he wrote that he could not “tolerate” the plight of the farmers and hoped his act would “open the eyes and ears” of the government.
Sources said the letter begins with a quote from the Gurbani: “Jay jeevai pat lathee jaa-ay, sab haraam jaytaa kichh khaa-ay (Those who simply live will be disgraced; whatever they eat is impure).”
There is also a line from the poet Muhammad Iqbal: “Move guzri hai itni, ranj-jo gam sehte flee, sharam si aati hai iss watan ko watan kehte hue (They have spent years enduring this suffering, it is a bit embarrassing to call this our country) . “
“I have been watching our brothers, sisters, the elderly and children sitting on the railroad tracks and highways, homeless, in the rain, storm and fog. I wonder if we are people from this country. Why are we receiving the slave treatment from the government today? ” he wrote.
“Our ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur had raised his voice against injustice and sacrificed his life … I am sacrificing my life so that our voice can reach the government of the deaf and dumb,” Singh wrote before signing the note as “Guru’s servant. and sangat (congregation) “.
Niranjan Singh had gone to the Singhu border on Sunday with the village sarpanch Balbir Singh and some members of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, and planned to stay at the protest site for a few days.
Mukhtar Singh (60), who was part of the group, said: “We left our village in a car on Sunday and arrived in Delhi at 6 am today. When we got to Singhu, some of us approached the stage. I heard that he tried to commit suicide when an announcement was made on stage … He said that he could not bear the pain the farmers were suffering. We are shocked. “
(With Somya Lakhani / Delhi)
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