Protesting farmer shoots himself dead at Singhu border

Pained by the plight of farmers agitating against the enactment of the three farm laws by the Modi government, a Karnal-based farmer reportedly committed suicide at Delhi’s Singhu border on Wednesday evening.

A resident of Singhra village in Karnal, Baba Ram Singh (65) shot himself around 5.30 p.m.

He left a suicide note written in Punjabi before taking the extreme step, according to eyewitnesses, who revealed that an announcement was also made from the stage at the dharna spot about the incident.

The deceased was reportedly deeply hurt by the plight of farmers protesting at the Delhi borders for the past 20 days.

Baba Ram Singh was rushed to a private hospital adjacent to the dharna site where he was declared brought dead by the doctors. The body has been sent to the Civil Hospital, Sonipat, for a post-mortem examination.

The Haryana Police, however, is tight-lipped about the suicide note, though it started investigating the incident. Besides police, a team of forensic experts was deployed to collect samples from the scene of the incident.

The police have started an investigation if the weapon used by the deceased farmer was a licensed one.

Panic gripped the area soon after the gunshot filled the air. Protesters ran helter-skelter and ambulances were called in to rush the injured man to the hospital, eyewitnesses revealed.

Manjit Singh Sirsa, president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, condoled the death of Baba Ram Singh and appealed to the protesting farmers not to lose their cool and take such drastic steps.