GHAZIABAD: A 71-year-old farmer, who was part of the UP Gate agitation since it began over a month ago, was found hanging in a makeshift toilet at the protest site on Saturday.
A three-page note purportedly written by Kashmir Singh was found nearby. The note, scribbled in Gurmukhi, said Singh wanted to be cremated at the protest site itself. The septuagenarian, who was from Bilaspur in Ramopur district, ran a community kitchen to feed the protesters at UP Gate.
He was found hanging after a Khoda municipality worker, who had come to clean the toilets, knocked on the door repeatedly but did not get any response. He alerted other farmers, pointing out that the toilet door was locked for long.
“It must be around 7am. The cleaner told the farmers that the door was locked from inside but nobody responded to the knocks. When we broke open the door, Kashmir Singh was found hanging with a nylon rope,” said Manjeet Singh Atwal, a protesting farmer. “This led to a hue and cry at the protest site. The three-page note that was found nearby said he was sacrificing himself for the farmers’ cause and his body should be cremated at UP Gate itself,” he added.
Kashmir Singh’s body was, however, handed over to his son Ladi, who, too, was at the protest site with him. Ladi consulted the elders and took the body to their native village. Anshu Jain, the circle officer of Indirapuram range, ruled out any foul play. “Prima facie, it looks like a case of suicide. We have found a note and the contents are being examined. His family and other farmer leaders declined to get an autopsy done” the officer said.
Shamsher Rana, the national media coordinator of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said, “Singh’s son told us his father would ask how long they would have to wait at the protest site in this cold?” BKU leader Rakesh Tikait dubbed Kashmir Singh’s death “unfortunate”. “We hope the government will accept our demands on January 4, when the next round of talks takes place. If that fails, we will have to march to Delhi on January 26,” he added.