AAP leaders egged on suicide, didn’t allow us to rescue farmer, charges Delhi cops FIR
New Delhi: The Delhi Police has accused the Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders of having instigated Rajasthan farmer Gajender Singh into committing suicide and putting all sorts of obstacles in their efforts to rescue him.
It has also dismissed the magisterial probe ordered by the Delhi Government saying that it has no jurisdiction in the matter.
Read: Farmer suicide case: Gajendra Singh was not distressed, claims family
Under attack from AAP that the police did nothing to rescue the 41-year-old farmer during its rally at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, the police said in its FIR that neither the workers nor the leader cooperated with it.
"This is totally an incident where AAP workers and leaders instigated the man to commit suicide and they also did not pay heed to requests made by police," says the FIR.
The FIR was registered under Section 306 (Abetment of suicide), 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 34 (common intention) of IPC in Parliament Street Police Station.
The two-page FIR, filed on the complaint of S S Yadav, an inspector who was on duty at the rally venue, read "Around 12:50 pm, when AAP leaders were delivering speeches, he saw some people looking upward toward a tree and clapping where a man was waving a broom. I informed the control room on wireless and asked AAP workers and others not to instigate him and help us to bring him down."
A combo picture shows farmer Gajendra Singh's suicide attempt during Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s rally against the Union government's Land Acquisition Bill at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi (Photo: PTI)
But neither the AAP leaders on stage nor the workers on the ground cooperated, the FIR alleged.
Read: Farmer who committed suicide at AAP rally had contested elections in 2003
Yadav further said that he called up senior officials and again requested AAP workers to help rescue Singh and also to make way for the rescue vehicle. They continued to say that police was against AAP and was not allowing the party to go ahead with the rally.
"I saw that the man had tied a gamcha (towel) around his neck, the other end of which was tied to a branch of the tree. We called the Fire Brigade and requested them to reach the spot with a tall ladder.”
Read: Need to find solutions collectively for farmers’ woes: Narendra Modi
"Meanwhile, the AAP workers continued to incite him by clapping which finally led him to hang himself from the tree," Yadav is quoted as saying in the FIR.
The FIR further said that some part of his body was still entangled in the branches.
"Some people were trying to climb the tree but we told them that the Fire Brigade has been called and the man will be rescued using their ladder. But they did not pay heed to our requests and climbed the tree. During their effort, the man fell flat on the ground," it said.
Read: Farmer suicide at rally: When an Aam Aadmi ends life
Police claimed that when they tried to take him to RML hospital in a police vehicle, AAP workers blocked their way saying that he is a party worker and will be taken to hospital in their vehicle instead of giving clear passage to police jeep.
"We then pushed them and rushed him to RML hospital where doctors declared him brought dead," it added.
BJP Delhi chief Satish Upadhyay brave water cannons during a protest against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal over farmer Gajender Singh's suicide at an AAP rally, in New Delhi (Photo: PTI)
Earlier in his statement in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had seconded this version of the police suggesting that it took prompt steps to tackle the situation by calling the control room and ordering help from the fire brigade to bring him down from the tree.
The AAP, however, accused the minister of "lying". "The Home Minister is lying and giving misleading statements. It is the Union government's ploy to target AAP using the Delhi Police," party spokesperson Sanjay Singh said.
"You (media) must have seen that we were requesting the police to rescue him. Please show the truth as to whether we have incited anyone. At least tell the truth in the floor of the house," said another AAP leader Kumar Vishwas.
Read: Farmer suicide at AAP rally: Congress, BJP protest outside Arvind Kejriwal's residence
Meanwhile, the police wrote to the District Magistrate, New Delhi district, who has been asked to conduct a magisterial inquiry by the Delhi Government saying it has no jurisdiction in the matter.
Referring to a letter written by the DM to it, the Delhi Police replied that the incident of suicide is a subject matter of an FIR filed under various sections of IPC including abetment of suicide.
Following claims from the family of Gajender Singh that the purported suicide note recovered from him was not in his handwriting, the police has sent the paper for forensic examination.
Earlier in the day, the police submitted a detailed report to Singh in connection with the suicide.
"We have submitted a report to Home Ministry about yesterday's unfortunate incident," Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi told reporters after he along with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung met Singh this morning.
Peoples sitting on a dharna at Jantar Mantar over farmer Gajender Singh's suicide, in New Delhi (Photo: PTI)
The investigation in the case has handed over to the Crime Branch whose team has been sent to Nangal Jhamarwada village in Dausa, Rajasthan to do a background check about Singh and gather information about the circumstances, which brought him to Delhi.
Investigators are also checking his mobile phone call records to identify the people with whom he was in touch with after coming to Delhi. They also visited the site of the incident and will be speaking to the people who had tried to save him.
Read: Farmer suicide: AAP accuses Rajnath Singh of 'lying and giving misleading statements'
"He was using a Rajasthan number and we have requested the service provider for his call record details. We are also awaiting the postmortem report to determine whether he died of hanging or because of the 20-25 feet fall.”
"We would also check the videos of the incident to piece together the sequence of events," said a senior police official associated with the probe.
