Farmer kills self in Punjab amid protests against Farm Bills, Rs 3 lakh compensation given to kin

A 70-year-old farmer died after consuming some poisonous substance during a protest against the new farm Bills in Muktsar district of Punjab, police said on Saturday.

Pritam Singh, a resident of Akkanwali village of Mansa district, consumed the poisonous substance on Friday morning and died at a hospital later in the day, they said. Singh had been participating in the protest since September 15, being organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) at Badal village, the native of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.

The reason behind the farmer taking the extreme step is still not known, said the police. The farmers' body, however, claimed that he was under debt. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh had earlier said they would allow the last rites only if the compensation was given to Pritam's family.

The Muktsar district administration, meanwhile, gave Rs 3 lakh as compensation to the family members of the deceased. “We have given a cheque of Rs 3 lakh to them,' said Muktsar Deputy Commissioner M K Aravind Kumar. After receiving the compensation, the farmer’s family agreed for the post mortem and cremation, officials said.