Jaipur : Farmer Gajendra Singh, who hanged himself from a tree at an Aam Adni Party rally in Delhi on Wednesday since he was distressed by the damage to his crops, was cremated on Thursday with a large number of people, including various politicians, attending the last rites at his village, Nangal Jhamarwara, in Rajasthan’s Dausa district.
Singh’s elder son, Bittu (12), performed the last rites after Singh’s body was taken in a large procession for cremation. Leaders from both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress announced assistance for the family. Arun Chaturvedi, Rajasthan Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, said the BJP would pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next kin of the deceased.
Chaturvedi said Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is also likely to announce ex-gratia for the farmer’s family. State Congress chief Sachin Pilot said his party would support the family in whatever way possible.
According to officials, the farmer’s body was taken on Wednesday night to Rajgarh in Alwar district, which is 30 km away from his village, Nangal Jhamarwada. Due to his niece’s wedding, the body was brought to the village only this morning after the ‘baraat’ (wedding party) left the village.
Ex-Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot were among those present on Thursday. “It is a very tragic incident and we are here to offer whatever support we can to the family. Farmers are distraught and feeling helpless. There has been a system failure,” Pilot said.
Gehlot said it was clear that the government was not taking the issue seriously and demanded that it announce a package for the farmers. A pall of gloom has descended on the village after 41-year-old Singh, a father of three, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in public view at an AAP rally on Wednesday in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The cremation took place around 12.15 pm. “Local MLA Alka Gurjar, NPP leader and MLA K L Meena, former union minister N N Meena and senior officials including the Divisional Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Dausa were present during the cremation,” SHO Bandikui Laxmi Kant Sharma said. Dausa is about 60 kms from Rajasthan’s capital, Jaipur.
Meanwhile, following Singh’s suicide, two more farmers have killed themselves. Titu Ram Jat, a farmer of Bharatpur district, committed suicide and on Wednesday, another farmer, Harsukh Lal, was found dead near a railway track. Lal, 47, had jumped before a running train near the Alwar-Mathura rail line in Tulera.
