NEW DELHI: A Sikh preacher who supported farmers’ agitation against the Center’s farm laws allegedly committed suicide near the Singhu Border in Delhi on Wednesday, police said.
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 Sonipat police official said they had received a call allegedly shooting himself Sant Ram Singh (65), who came from the town of Singhra in the Nissing area of Karnal district.
He was rushed to a hospital in Panipat where doctors declared him dead.
Police said that according to preliminary reports, the cleric shot himself in his car near the site of the protest. The police are recording statements from the relatives of the deceased.
The body was brought to Karnal for a post-mortem examination in an ambulance. His followers raised slogans against the government of the Union.
Later, the body will be taken to Nanaksar Gurdwara in Singhra village, where a large number of his followers have gathered.
Karnal SP Ganga Ram Punia told PTI that police have been deployed to the area.
“The situation is peaceful and under control,” he said.
In reaction to the incident, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Modi government should drop its “stubbornness” and withdraw the laws.
“Sant Baba Ram Singh Ji from Karnal committed suicide after seeing the plight of farmers on the Kundli border. My condolences and tribute in this hour of pain. Many farmers have sacrificed their lives. The brutality of the Modi government has crossed all boundaries. Give up stubbornness and immediately withdraw the anti-farm law, “he said in a Hindi tweet.
The chief congressional spokesman, Randeep Surjewala, also blamed the government for the incident.
“Modi ji, amid the winter cold, stop playing on farmers’ feelings,” Surjewala tweeted.
“Why is PM Modi so arrogant? Why is the BJP so stubborn? Why are they treating farmers so callously? In the last 20 days, 16 farmers have died. Lakhs of farmers are sitting on the borders of Delhi. However, this government does not listen to their complaints, ”he said in another tweet.
Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal also said he was distraught to hear that the cleric committed suicide.
“Sant ji’s sacrifice will not be allowed to be in vain. I urge the Government of India not to allow the situation to deteriorate further and to repeal the 3 agricultural laws, ”he said.
SAD spokesperson and chairman of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, urged farmers to exercise restraint.
“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.
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.
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