“This servant commits self-immolation against the government oppression [and] in favour of the farmers,” Sant Baba Ram Singh, wrote in the note left behind.
On Wednesday evening, a 65-year-old Sikh preacher reportedly died by suicide at Singhu border. Hailing from Singhra village in Nissing area of Karnal district, the deceased has been identified as Sant Baba Ram Singh. He was unable to bear the “pain of farmers”, a handwritten note in Punjabi written by the deceased said.
He was rushed to a private hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. Having a large number of followers, Baba Ram Singh was on the seat of Gurdwara Sahib in Nanaksar Singhra village.
Police are in the process of recording statements of the deceased’s family members. Deceased’s body was taken to Karnal for a postmortem examination in an ambulance.
He took his life in solidarity with the protesters, according to his suicide letter found near his body. Sant Baba Ram Singh, was a religious preacher with followers in Haryana and Punjab, as per the reports.
The 65-year-old Sikh priest, in the suicide note, said he was ‘hurt to see the plight of the farmers’ and the ‘government’s oppression’. “I have witnessed the plight of the farmers, who are on the streets, struggling for their rights. I am hurt to see that the government is not giving them justice. It is a crime. It is a sin to oppress and it is a sin to suffer,” the note read.
“Nobody did anything against the oppression and for the rights of the farmers. Many even expressed their protest by returning awards,” he further wrote.
“This servant commits self-immolation against the government oppression [and] in favour of the farmers. It [The act] is the voice against the oppression and the voice in favour of the farmers,” Sant Baba Ram Singh, wrote in the note left behind.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, reacting to the incident, said the Modi government should quit its “stubbornness” and withdraw the laws.
“Sant Baba Ram Singh Ji of Karnal committed suicide after seeing the plight of farmers on the Kundli border. My condolences and tribute in this hour of grief. Many farmers have sacrificed their lives. The brutality of the Modi government has crossed all limits. Quit stubbornness and immediately withdraw the anti-agricultural law,” Mr Gandhi said in a Hindi tweet.
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