52-yr-old farmer dies by suicide at Khanauri border

A 52-year-old man allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself from a tent of tractor-trailer at Khanauri border’s ‘Kisan Morcha,’ on Wednesday.

The deceased identified as Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Thuthianwali village in Mansa district, is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

His body has been kept at the mortuary of Samana Civil Hospital and a post-mortem examination will be conducted on Thursday. The cremation will take place in his native village and would be attended by BKU (Sidhupur) state president Jagjit Singh Dallewal, among others.

Talking to The Tribune, Dallewal said the deceased farmer had been performing duty of an electrician without getting wages at the Khanauri morcha for the past several months.

He said Gurmeet was extremely dedicated to the ‘Kisan Andolan’ that he had not even gone to his village to attend marriage of his son, about two months ago.

Holding the Central Government responsible for the death of Gurmeet Singh, Dallewal said the government should be serious on the demands of the farmers, so that in future such an incident does not occur.

He said the union demands from Punjab Government, a government job for the family of the deceased farmer. A decision regarding the amount of compensation to be given to the deceased will be decided at a meeting of the morcha leaders, he added.