Punjab: Farmer commits suicide at protest site demanding cancellation of cases registered for burning stubble

A farmer allegedly committed suicide after consuming poison on Saturday at the site of the protest, organised under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Unions, Ekta and Sidhupur, demanding the cancellation of stubble burning cases.

The sit-in protests were going on for over a month demanding cancellation of stubble burning cases registered against them in Faridkot's Jaitu.

The deceased has been identified as Jagsir Singh. He was admitted to the hospital after he allegedly consumed poison and died during the treatment.

Jagjeet Singh, Suba Pradhan, BKU said, "The farmers are protesting peacefully. The desolation among farmers is such that they are left with no other way. Under such desolation, he took such an extreme step of committing suicide."

Singh held that the government responsible for "what has happened."

"No such thing has come out that he had any problem in his family or with anyone else for that matter. The bottle found near his body had poison. The Post-mortem will determine the cause. But the point is that we will hold a meeting and decide what to do next," said Singh.

A doctor in the Civil Hospital said, "We tried to revive the patient. He could not be revived. The cause of death can be determined only after the post-mortem."

"The patient came to us after 9:30 and was declared dead by 9:55. Only after the chemical examination can we determine the compound (a poison that he consumed?)," the Doctor said.