Tribune news service
Sonepat / Karnal, December 16
A 65-year-old ‘sant’ reportedly committed suicide by shooting himself at the Singhu border on Wednesday night.
The late Baba Ram Singh from Singhra village in the Nissing area of Karnal district had a large following.
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Baba Ram Singh was at the headquarters of Gurdwara Sahib Nanaksar, Singhra village.
A handwritten note in Punjabi, allegedly left by the deceased, says that he could not bear the “pain of the farmers.” The note is being verified by the police.
A Sonepat police official said they had received a call that Sant Ram Singh (65), a native of Karnal, allegedly shot himself.
The deceased was rushed to a hospital in Panipat where the doctors declared that they had brought him dead.
The official said that the exact place where the incident occurred is being verified and that the police are in the process of recording the statements of the relatives of the deceased.
SAD spokesman and chairman of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, expressed regret over the incident and urged farmers to exercise restraint.
दिल बहुत दुखी है आप को ये बताते हुए कि संत राम सिंह जी सिंगड़े वाले ने किसानों की व्यथा को देखते हुए आत्महत्या कर ली। इस आंदोलन ने पूरे देश की आत्मा झकझोर कर रख दी है। मेरी वाहेगुरु से अरदास है कि उनकी आत्मा को शांति मिले
आप सभी से संयम बनाकर रखने की विनती 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/DyYyGmWgGg
– Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) December 16, 2020
“Very sad news has been received that Sant Ram Singh, who dedicated his life to the service of humanity, committed suicide by shooting himself,” he said on his Twitter account.
According to Sirsa, the victim wrote in her suicide note that she could not bear the “farmers’ pain.”
“It is a sin to suffer atrocities and witness them, which I cannot see,” Sirsa said, the cleric wrote in his suicide note.
Sirsa called on farmers to exercise restraint.
“It is a very serious moment. I ask you as head sewadar of the DSGMC to exercise restraint because anyone can do harm in the agitation of the farmers. It is a very sad incident for all of us, but we must be restrained, ”Sirsa said.
Baba Ram Singh came to Nanaksar Gurdwara Singhra in 1990 from Nanaksar Gurdwara Jagraon in Punjab. It had also extended Rs 5 lakh support to the farmers’ unrest this week on the Singhu border. Yesterday he had distributed 500 blankets to farmers on the Singhu border, said Kamarjeet Virk, one of his followers.
According to the followers who told him, Baba Ram Singh went to the Singhu border today to offer ‘ardas’ (prayer).
Congressional leader Rahul Gandhi lamented the suicide death of Sant Ram Singh and said that the atrocity of the BJP-led Center had crossed all boundaries.
“Sant Ram Singh from Karnal committed suicide looking at the condition of the farmers. Many farmers have given their lives. Government atrocities know no bounds. The government should get rid of its ego and immediately repeal the agricultural laws, ”Gandhi said.
करनाल के संत बाबा राम सिंह जी ने कुंडली बॉर्डर पर किसानों की दुर्दशा देखकर आत्महत्या कर ली। इस दुख की घड़ी में मेरी संवेदनाएँ और श्रद्धांजलि।
कई किसान अपने जीवन की आहुति दे चुके हैं। मोदी सरकार की क्रूरता हर हद पार कर चुकी है।
ज़िद छोड़ो और तुरंत कृषि विरोधी क़ानून वापस लो! pic.twitter.com/rolS2DWNr1
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 16, 2020
Baba Ram Singh’s body was taken to KCGMC, Karnal, where his followers refused to do an autopsy. His body was taken to Nanaksar Gurdwara Singhra, where thousands of followers had gathered. However, the body was later returned to the hospital.
While the autopsy was being carried out, followers of Baba Ram Singh offered prayers.
The tense situation prevailed at the gurdwara facility. The followers said “Maharaj ji ne sahadat diti hai kisana vaste, Modi ji, hun te kisana de sun lo” (Maharaj ji sacrificed his life for the farmers; Modi ji, now listen to the farmers)
There were also a large number of policemen outside the gurdwara.
BKU President Gurnam Singh Charuni called Baba Ram Singh’s death a great loss to society.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other states have been protesting near Delhi’s borders for the past three weeks, demanding that the Center’s agricultural laws be repealed. – With PTI inputs
