Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers' stir toll mounts, 4 protesters die in a day

Chandigarh, January 11At least three more farmers died today because of health conditions during the ongoing farmer agitation against the agriculture laws enacted by the central government.Jagdish Singh (60) and Titu Singh (40), both from Muktsar district, died of cardiac arrest at the Tikri border. A 45-year-old farmer, Harpinder Singh, alias Neetu Khalsa, of Abul Khurana village in Muktsar passed away last night at a hospital in Ludhiana. He, too, had gone to the farmers’ stir on the first day it started, but returned from there in last week of December after developing some health issues.Jagdish Singh, a numberdar, had been with protesters at the border from day one. Though he had come back to his village, he went back about 10 days ago. He was an activist of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur). His father has served as village sarpanch. His family owns about 35 acres in the village, said sources.Gurdas Singh, a close relative of the deceased, said, “He (Jagdish Singh) was staying in a trailer. He had gone to answer nature’s call in the morning when he collapsed. We took him to Civil Hospital, Bahadurgarh, where the doctors declared him brought dead.”Meanwhile, some farmers in the village said the deceased had last night informed his son about developing some health issue. The deceased is survived by wife, two sons and parents. Villagers said the body reached the village in the evening and cremation would be held on Tuesday.Neetu Khalsa, too, passed away last night at a hospital in Ludhiana. He had returned from the protest site in the last week of December after developing some health issues. Sources said the deceased was first taken to a hospital in Bathinda and then to Ludhiana, where he passed away last night.The deceased had less than 10 acres and owed a huge amount to a private bank, said sources. He was cremated in the village. Among those present there included former AAP MP Sadhu Singh and senior SAD leader and former Malout MLA Harpreet Singh.Purushottam Singh Gill, a BKU leader, said both Jagdish Singh and Titu Singh had been camping at the border for the past many days and suffered a heart attack that led to their death.Civil Surgeon Dr Sanjay Dahiya said Jagdish Singh was brought dead to the Civil Hospital in Bahadurgarh this morning and the exact reason of death would be clear from the postmortem report. Notably, 14 farmers have so far lost their lives during the ongoing protest at Tikri.

The Tribune

2021-01-12