Tragic news surfaced on the morning of February 16, with an elderly farmer passing away due to cardiac arrest. As reported by local journalists covering the farmers protest, a 65-year-old farmer from Punjab, namely Gyan Singh, died in the early hours of Friday after suffering from a heart attack. Singh had been a part of the ongoing ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest and had been at the protesting at the Shambhu border along with thousands of other farmers. The farmers have alleged that it was the tear gas that was being thrown at the protesters by the State that resulted in his death. As provided by Journalist Garvit Garg of Gaon Savera, “After being hit by tear gas shells, Singh was constantly having breathing troubles.”
किसान ज्ञान सिंह, शंभु बॉर्डर पर शहीद हो गये हैं। आंसू गैस के गोलों की चपेट में आने के बाद उन्हें लगातार साँस लेने में तकलीफ़ हो रही थी। उन्हें पटियाला के अस्पताल में भर्ती करवाया गया था। वह गुरदासपुर से थे और उनकी उम्र 63 साल थी।#FarmerProtest2024 pic.twitter.com/U4pLmTu2Cb
— Garvit Garg (@garvitgarg15) February 16, 2024
शंभू बॉर्डर पर पंजाब के प्रदर्शनकारी किसान ज्ञान सिंह की मौत हुई। ये मौत हार्टअटैक से बताई जा रही है। किसानों ने कहा- ”आंसू गैस के गोले छोड़े जाने से उन्हें तकलीफ हो रही थी”#FarmerProtest2024 pic.twitter.com/UhBNJtj1zh
— Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) February 16, 2024
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher also spoke on the death of Gyan Singh and highlighted the issues that the protesting farmers are facing in accessing adequate medicines and food. Speaking to media, Pandher stated “Central government is the reason behind this agitation. We have a lot of people here (Shambhu border) participating in the protest including elders. We are facing difficulties in receiving medicines at the right time and even getting food, and resting.”
The video can be viewed here:
VIDEO | Farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ March: Here’s what farmer Leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said when asked about the death of a farmer named Gyan Singh, who was a member of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) due to a heart attack, at the Shambhu border on Friday morning.… pic.twitter.com/2yNYz2BKWG
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 16, 2024
As per a report of the Indian Express, Singh hailed from Chacheki village in Gurdaspur district. Jagdish Singh, nephew of the deceased, provided that around 3 am on Friday, while Singh was sleeping in a trolley along with five other farmers about a kilometre away from the Shambhu barrier site, Gyan Singh reported feeling uneasy.
“We called the ambulance parked near Shambhu police station and took him to Rajpura civil hospital. However, he was referred to Rajindra Medical College, Patiala, as he was feeling breathless. Oxygen supply was given to him in the ambulance. By 5 am, we reached the medical college but he died at around 7.45 am at the hospital,” Jagdish stated while speaking to The Indian Express.
The news of the death of the elderly farmer had also been confirmed by the Patiala Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray. As per the IE report, Parray stated that “The farmer has died of cardiac arrest as per medical records.”
Gyan Singh’s nephew provided that the deceased was a bachelor and stayed with his nephews. The nephew Jagdish further elaborated upon the allegations of Gyan Singh having died due to inhaling tear gas that was thrown at the protesting farmers by the Haryana police and said that “On February 13, when shelling started, my uncle had gone near that location where tear gas shells were being lobbed. He inhaled it and had been feeling uneasy since then. He had even taken medicine from a stall set up by Khalsa aid…he was in the trolley since February 11 as we left our village on February 11, halted at Beas and reached Fatehgarh Sahib on February 12.”
A Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee member provided that the deceased Gyan Singh was a regular at protests and had also participated in the farmers agitation against farm laws in 2020-2021. Gurlal Singh, a KMSC member from Amritsar, provided that Gyan Singh had remained on borders for most of the time during the protest against the three contentious farm laws. Sarvan Singh Pandher, farmer leader and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) coordinator highlighted the injuries being caused by the excessive use of force by the State of Haryana and the union government and said, “The government needs to see how they should treat the farmers as they are on the roads protesting for their rights. Already, they have injured many of our farmers.”
It is essential to note that as the protest enters its fourth day, more than one hundred farmers have reportedly suffered serious injuries till now. As per a report of the Hindustan Times, these serious injuries have resulted in amputations, fractures and head injuries. As per a report of the Indian Express, three farmers have lost their vision from pellet injuries. The loss of eyesight occurred due to the farmers being hit in the eyes by rubber pellets by the Haryana Police on the Punjab-Haryana border to stop the farmers from marching towards Delhi.
Details of the third meeting between the farmer leaders and the union ministers
Meanwhile, the third rounds of talk that took place yesterday between the Union ministers and farmer leaders in Chandigarh yielded no result. As per the posts of Journalist Garvit Garg, the union ministers reached Chandigarh after 8 pm on February 15 for the said meeting that was supposed to take place at 5 pm. The third round of talks had taken place between Piyush Goyal (Food Minister), Arjun Munda (Union Agriculture Minister) and Nityanand Rai (Minister of State for Home Affairs) and the farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jarnail Singh.
The Red Mike journalist Saurabh Shukla also posted an interview with a farmer leader who was present at the said meeting. As narrated by the said leader, the union ministers did not have anything to say when they were shown the tear gas cans being thrown at the farmers and the rubber bullets being fired by the Haryana Police. Rather, the union minister reportedly dodged the questions by stating that these actions are being taken by the state of Haryana. It is pertinent to note here that the state government of Haryana is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The farmer leader clearly stated that while many topics were spoken about at the meeting, the farmers held onto their demand for a law on the minimum support price (MSP) and stated that they will continue with their protest that the demand for MSP as well as other demands are met with. They leader also highlighted that the Punjab government has stated that they will bear the expense of the protests that are being hospitalised.
Answering to the question of industries and people being affected by the protest, the farmer leader clarified that the farmers had to march to Delhi and would have protested at the site allotted to them, but it is the government itself that is creating blockages for everyone. He further elaborated that their plan was to protest on one side of the road and not to block any roads. Notably, the union ministers have assured the farmer leaders that there will be a cease fire from the union and state governments till the talks are taking place.
The video can be viewed here:
सरकार से बैठक के बाद किसान नेताओं ने खोले बैठक के राज़, Saurabh Shukla क… https://t.co/RAqqAZpp6G via @YouTube
— Saurabh shukla (@Saurabh_Unmute) February 16, 2024
Farmer leader Pandher also spoke to the media in regards to the meeting of the union ministers and the leaders and stated “We had the discussion with the ministers. We will call it a ‘decision’, only if they will practically implement everything that they have said to us in the meeting. It will be our last option to move forward if nothing happens ever after the talk and giving enough time to the government.”
The video can be viewed here:
VIDEO | Farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ March: Here’s what farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said on the meeting held yesterday between farmer leaders and union ministers.
“We had the discussion with the ministers. We will call it a ‘decision’, only if they will practically implement… pic.twitter.com/YLfzb4vMDz
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 16, 2024
Notably, the next round of talks is supposed to take place on 6 pm of Sunday at Chandigarh where the union ministers will be presenting a plan.
Related:
Farmers’ Protest: Physical repression, prohibitory orders, Delhi entry blocked – Déjà Vu?