Indian farmer consumes poisonous substance at protest site, dies in hospital
A 55-year-old farmer Resham Singh on Thursday allegedly committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance at a protest site in the northern Indian state of Punjab.
Multiple local media reports said.
Singh is the second farmer who has committed suicide to express disillusionment against the federal government’s apathy towards ongoing farmer protests.
According to available details, Singh consumed insecticide at the Shambhu border, a point between Punjab and Haryana, after which he was rushed to a government hospital in Rajpura.
“At the hospital, his condition deteriorated further and he was later referred to Rajendra hospital in Patiala, where he was declared dead by doctors,” a farmer leader said.
Earlier, in December, 57-year-old Ranjodh Singh consumed insecticide during a farmers’ protest at the Shambhu border and later died in hospital. He was distressed by the deteriorating health of 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who had been on a fast-unto-death since November 26, 2024 at the Khanauri border.
Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border since February 13, 2024 to press for their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price for their crops.
Their multiple efforts to march to India’s national capital last month were met with strong force from the police, who fired tear smoke shells and resorted to baton charging to dispel the protesting farmers.
Meanwhile, Dallewal’s hunger strike entered its 45th day on Thursday. He has urged his fellow protesters to carry on the protest even in the event of his death.
In September 2020, the Indian government passed three contentious laws aimed at “modernizing” the country’s agriculture sector.
However, farmers feared the new laws would weaken their position and make them dependent on corporates.
Seeking revocation of the laws, thousands of farmers went on strike on the borders of the national capital.
The strike lasted for over a year, after which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government was repealing the laws.
(Xinhua/NAN)
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