Farmer suicide: Suicide or abetment, 3 questions must be answered

New Delhi, April 23: There are several contradictory facts that led up to the death of Gajendra Singh, the farmer who committed suicide at the Aam Admi Party rally.

While the Congress has claimed that he was denied compensation as a result of which he committed suicide, the view from the village of Dausa from where Singh hailed is that he could not have committed suicide due to financial reasons.

Some questions that would have to be answered while probing the case are:

Did Singh commit suicide due to crop damages?

Did the Aam Admi Party ignore a letter by the Delhi police to hold rally at bigger venue

Was Gajendra Singh specifically invited by the Aam Admi Party

The Home Ministry had ordered an inquiry into the death of Singh and various angles are under probe. His suicide note states that he had suffered huge crop losses and this had led to his suicide.

Did Gajendra Singh commit suicide due to crop damage?

The Congress and the Aam Admi Party were quick to say that the Rajasthan government did very little to protect him and that compensation was not awarded. However, the administration in Rajasthan says that the crop losses were less than 33 per cent and hence compensation is not awarded as per the rule.

Gajender Singh was specifically invited by Manish Sisodia.

The district administration at Dausa from where Gajendra Singh hails claims that he was not entitled for compensation as the crop loss was below 33 per cent. The family of Singh was in a better financial condition when compared to the rest and hence it was not a case of suicide due to crop damage the officers also claim.

Did the Aam Admi Party ignore the Delhi police warning

The Delhi police had written to the Aam Admi Party to change the venue from the Jantar Mantar to a bigger ground such as the Ram Lila Maidan. The Delhi police had written the letter based on intelligence inputs suggesting that the rally would have nearly 20,000 people in it and the capacity of Jantar Mantar is hardly 5000.

Delhi police felt that it would have been easier to control the crowd at a bigger venue. At Jantar Mantar the place was overcrowded and it is very difficult for the police to monitor everything if the crowd exceeded 5000 people there, a Delhi police official said.

The Delhi police has booked three cases relating to Abetment to Suicide, causing death by negligence and obstructing a public servant while discharging his functions.

Was Gajendra Singh specifically invited for the rally?

The other interesting question that has arisen in this case is whether Singh was invited for the rally or did he come at his own will. He was present at the Kisan Vikas Rally at Rajasthan a couple of days back.

However, his friends from Rajasthan say that he had been specifically asked to come down to Delhi to attend the Aam Admi Party rally. A relative of Singh's claims that it was Manish Sisodia who had invited him for the rally.

The claim is that Sisodia had told him to attend the rally and make it a success. In fact, he was the only one called from our village for the rally, his relatives have also claimed.

There are questions raised over whether he had really committed suicide due to crop damage. The district administration at Dausa clearly states that he was financially better off and could not have committed suicide due to financial reasons.

The police who will inquire into the case are looking at all these angles. Whether it was a suicide or was it something that had gone wrong is also under the scanner of the police who are inquiring into the matter following a directive by the Home Minister of India, Rajnath Singh.

OneIndia News