40-yr-old Punjab farmer commits suicide at Delhi's Singhu border

CHANDIGARH: A 40-year-old Punjab farmer, who was participating in the protest at Delhi's Singhu border against the three central farm laws, allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance on Saturday (January 9). The farmer, identified as Amarinder Singh, was a resident of Punjab's Fatehgarh Sahib district. The man was rushed to Frank Institute of Medical Science (FIMS) in Sonipat in a critical condition where he passed away during medical treatment, Sonipat's Kundli police station's inspector Ravi Kumar told PTI.

Farmers from various parts of the country, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at different border points of Delhi for over a month now demanding repeal of the three agri laws, which were voted through in Parliament in September amid strong protests by opposition parties.

The three laws have been projected by the central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

The government has repeatedly asserted that the MSP and Mandi systems will stay and has accused the opposition of misleading the farmers.