Gajendra Singh suicide case: Tree was not visible from rally stage, claims Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the tree from which farmer Gajendra Singh hanged himself during the party's 'Kisan Rally' was not clearly visible from the stage.

"When we reached the stage on the day of the rally, the tree was at a distance from the stage. We all were present there. All the media persons were standing on the platform and the tree was behind it. The tree had banners hanging on it and because of its thick foliage, we could not see what was happening inside that tree from the stage," Kejriwal told ANI.

"Meanwhile, a few volunteers came to us, saying some activity is taking place on the tree. But at that time, we could not announce anything from the stage. Had we done so, the whole crowd would have rushed towards the tree. Slowly, the story emerged: a person was trying to commit suicide but nothing had been confirmed," he added.

Kejriwal further said that an announcement stating that somebody was attempting suicide could have resulted in a stampede.

"We could not announce that he was committing suicide from the stage as it could have resulted in a stampede. We were continuously saying that there was something wrong in the tree, and appealed to the police to investigate," he said.

The Chief Minister also said that though some guest teachers, policemen and volunteers were standing under tree, blame could not be appropriated to them.

"Honestly, what I feel is that they would not have even thought that a person will actually commit suicide there. I am sure, had any official known that a farmer would hang himself, 80-90 percent of people have mercy in their hearts, someone would have surely climbed up to bring him down," he added.

Kejriwal further admitted that he should have called off the rally after Gajendra's death.

"Having said that, I made a mistake; I should have called off the rally," he said.

Gajendra had committed suicide on Wednesday by hanging himself from a tree during an Aam Aadmi Party rally against the Land Acquisition Bill in New Delhi.

As per reports, a suicide note was found that revealed the farmer, who had three children, was banished from his house after his crop was damaged. He took the extreme step because he had no means of support his family.