Hisar: A 69-year-old farmer and member of the Bhartiya Kisan Union collapsed and died after he got “breathless” and had a “cardiac arrest” Monday, while on the way to Haryana’s Hisar to take part in a demonstration against police action on the agitating farmers, which occurred earlier this month.
Instead of taking the farmer, Ram Chander, to a hospital, those traveling with him brought his body to the protest site, wrapped it in the Tricolour and kept it amid the crowd of over 7,000 people, none of whom were wearing a mask or following any Covid-19 protocols.
The farm leader at the stage, hosting the event, declared Chander a “martyr” and asked the farmers present to observe “one minute of silence for the shaheed”, before getting back to his speech.
Ajit Singh, who came with Chander from his village of Ugrahan in Haryana, seemed perplexed by the farmer’s death.
“We do not know what happened to him. He was completely alright until morning and very enthused to take part in this protest,” Singh said. “We were just a few meters away from the protest site, when he got down from the car to relieve himself. When he came back to the car, he said he was uneasy. He had some difficulty in breathing, and before we could realise what was happening, he collapsed.”
Singh said Chander had been at the forefront of the farmers’ protest and had returned to his village just a week ago, after spending 15 days at the Tikri border in Delhi.
The farmers from across villages and districts in Haryana have charted out and fixed a weekly “duty roster” for their travel to the protest sites at Delhi’s borders.
Every week, a group of 10 leaves the villages. Once they return home, the next set of 10 people replace them at the border. Haryana authorities have claimed that it is the farmers, moving to and fro from the borders, who are spreading the virus to the rural belts of the state.
When asked if Chander had any medical conditions, Singh said, “He never had any problem. He was very strong. We do not know why he started breathing so heavily and died just in a span of few minutes.”
Singh dismissed suggestions that Chander could have been Covid positive. “He had nothing. There is no such virus,” Singh said. “It was a heart attack. That is all.”
Chander is survived by four daughters, two sons and his wife.
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The protest
Over 7,000 farmers from across villages in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, have gathered at Krantiman Park in Hisar, for a march towards the commissioner’s office.
The farmers, among whom are leaders like Rakesh Tikait and Jagjit Dallewal, demanded that the administration withdraw all the 300-plus cases registered against the farmers, after their clash with the police on 16 May.
On 16 May, a group of farmers — who had gone to protest at a venue where Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was to inaugurate a Covid-19 facility in Hisar — clashed with police, in which dozens from both sides were injured, following which over 300 FIRs were registered against them and many were also detained.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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