A 55-year-old farmer protesting at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana allegedly died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance on Thursday, the second such incident at the agitation site in three weeks.
Resham Singh, who was from Pahuwind in Tarn Taran district of Punjab, took the extreme step at the protest site where farmers have been agitating for almost a year now to demand a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their produce. He was taken to Rajindra Hospital Patiala where he died, farmers said.
Sarwan Singh Pandher, the coordinator of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Morcha and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), said the deceased was disappointed with the Centre for not fulfilling the farmers’ demands despite the ongoing protests.
He said the last rites of Resham Singh would not be performed until the government gave a compensation of ₹25 lakh to his family and a job to the next of kin and waived the farmer’s loan. “The body of the farmer will be kept in the mortuary till these demands are met,” Pandher said.
On December 18, another farmer, Ranjodh Singh, died by suicide at the same protest site. Ranjodh Singh was said to have been upset with the deteriorating health of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, 70, who has been on a fast-unto-death since November 26 at the Khanauri border, another farm protest site.
Dallewal, whose fast-unto-death entered the 45th day on Thursday, has urged his fellow protesters to carry on the movement even in the event of his death.
In a message conveyed to his close comrade, Kaka Singh Kotra, on Wednesday morning, Dallewal said his body should be kept at the protest site and the fast should be continued by another leader, symbolising the relentless spirit of the farm movement.
A team of five doctors monitoring Dallewal’s health has expressed concern over his condition. Farmers said Dallewal, who has been consuming only water since November 26, had also stopped taking his prescribed cancer medication. Doctors attending to him regularly have highlighted several critical health issues, including significant muscle loss, dangerously low sodium levels and persistent low blood pressure.
Last month, the Supreme Court had ordered the Punjab government to shift him to a hospital. The court has been hearing a clutch of petitions related to the issue.
The apex court had also lashed out at the state for its inability to hospitalise Dallewal despite repeated medical advice, observing that this was not just a “failure of the law-and-order machinery” but also an “abetment to suicide”. The court asked the state to persuade Dallewal to shift to a hospital, granting it the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if necessary.