A 65-year-old preacher, described as a “sant”, committed suicide by shooting himself dead at Singhu Border on Wednesday evening. The deceased has been identified as Baba Ram Singh of Singhra village in Nissing area of Karnali district.
He was admitted to a private hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. His followers said he was a sant and was on the seat of Gurdwara Sahib Nanaksar Singhra village. His followers had distributed blankets among protesters.
The body of Baba Ram Singh arrived at KCGMC, but the followers (sangat) refused to get his post-mortem conducted. His body is being taken to Nanaksar Gurdwara Singhra, where thousands of followers gathered. Tense situations prevailed on the gurdwara premises. One of the followers said, “Maharaj ji sacrificed for farmers, Modi ji, now listen to the farmers. He left behind a suicide note in Punjabi language.”
Baba Ram Singh came to Nanaksar Gurdwara Singhra in 1990 from Nanaksar Gurdwara Jagraon in Punjab.
He had on Tuesday asked the Central Government to resolve farmers’ concerns. He had also extended support of Rs 5 lakh to the farmers’ agitation this week at Singhu border. He had also distributed 500 blankets on Tuesday to farmers at Singhu border, said one of his followers.
Meanwhile, a shockwave swept across Punjab and Haryana, especially among the Sikh community. Leaders, cutting across party lines from both States, expressed shock and grief over the incident, asking the BJP-led Central Government to “wake-up” before it was too late.
Former Union Minister and SAD MP from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal, taking to Twitter, said, “Even as GOI remains stubborn & refuses to be moved by suffering of #farmers, Baba Ram Singh ji Singhra wale has committed suicide after being unable to see the suffering around him at Kundli border. Hope GOI wakes up to the tragedy & repeals the 3 agri laws before it’s too late.”
Senior Congress leader and Haryana’s former Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, paying tributes to the deceased, asked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “immediately stop playing with the feelings of farmers amidst the intense cold wave…This royal obstinacy or stubbornness is suicidal because it has become an enemy of the country’s soul and food provider”.
Congress’ senior leader and former party affairs in-charge in Punjab Shakeel Ahmed questioned the Modi Government over a “farmer leader’s suicide”. “May his soul rest in peace. But the Modi Government is saying that these three laws are not made for the service of Adani-Ambani sahiban, but for the benefit of the farmers. Then why did the farmer leader commit suicide?” tweeted Ahmed.
Lok Insaaf Party president and MLA from Ludhiana Simarjeet Singh Bains too took to Twitter to “salute the salute the martyrdom of Sant Baba Ram Singh” while hoping for the “restoration of strong democracy by overthrowing the dominant dictatorial system in India”.