Defence Minister seeks details of suicide by ex-serviceman

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday sought details of the suicide of retired Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal.

The former soldier, who was part of the One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP) agitation, committed suicide by consuming poison near Jawahar Bhawan in the national capital on Tuesday evening.

Jawahar Bhawan houses the Ministry of External affairs and is not far from South Block where the Defence Ministry is located.

"Saddened by the death of Subdr. Ram Kishan Grewal. I express my heartfelt condolences. I have asked the officials to provide me details," Parrikar said in a tweet.

While reports suggest the soldier was waiting for a meeting with the Defence Minister over the OROP issue, sources in the Defence Ministry said he had not sought any appointment to meet the minister.

Police officials said Grewal, along with some other former soldiers, was going to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and that he committed suicide in a park near Jawahar Bhawan.

In his suicide note, he wrote he is committing suicide as a sacrifice for the nation, a police official told IANS.

Former soldiers resumed a relay hunger strike on Tuesday for rectification of anomalies in the OROP scheme announced by the government.

A group of ex-servicemen has been demanding removal of anomalies from the OROP scheme. One of the main demands of the former soldiers is annual revision of pension.

Under the present scheme, revision will take place every five years.

--IANS

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