Punjab farmer who fell ill after tear gas firing dies, sixth death in 15 days of ‘Dilli Chalo’ march

Karnail’s youngest son Gurpreet Singh, 28, said, “My father went for the dharna on February 13 and he never returned even though we asked him to come home and take a break for a day. On February 21, he inhaled tear gas (after the police firing), the same day when Shubhkaran Singh (the 22-year-old Punjab farmer who died of a head injury when the police used teargas shells) and many others suffered grievous injuries.”

Karnail was a member of Bharatiya Kisan Union Krantikari, a Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) constituent unit. Jarnail Singh Kaleke from BKU Krantikari, who was also protesting at the site along with Karnail, said, “He (Karnail) had been taking medicines from a medical aid stall set up at the dharna spot but never returned home though he had been unwell since February 21. On Monday morning, we took him to the Patran civil hospital and the doctors there referred him to Rajindra Medical College. He was improving on Monday evening but died later at the medical college.”

Karnail is survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons. According to sources, he was farming on 1.5 acres of land and had debt of around Rs 8 lakh.

“The land is also not in his name… this is an issue with hundreds of farmers who started farming since Independence. They have been tilling the land, but in revenue records, it is still in the government’s name. Hence, this was another cause for which he had been fighting,” added Jarnail Singh.

On February 22, Darshan Singh, 62, of the Amargarh village of Bathinda district, died of cardiac arrest at the Khanauri border. He joined the dharna on February 12 after marrying off his son on February 6.

On February 14, Gyan Singh, 63, of the Chacheki village of Gurdaspur, died of a heart attack at the Shambhu border. On February 18, Manjit Singh, 72, of Patiala, died of a heart attack at the Khanauri border. Gyan Singh’s family, too, had complained that he had felt unwell after inhaling tear gas.

On February 18 evening, Narinder Pal Singh, 43, of a Patiala village, also died of a heart attack while on his way back from a dharna outside Capt Amarinder Singh’s house in Patiala organised by BKU Ugrahan.

The Punjab government assured Rs 5 lakh compensation to the families of all the deceased farmers, revealed information from the Patiala administration, but so far, there has not been any formal announcement.

Farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) non-political have been protesting at the Khanauri and Shambhu borders since February 13 over a 12-point charter of demands, including the legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).

They also want Haryana government officials to be booked by the Punjab government with murder charges for killing Shubhkaran Singh.

A police officer who was on duty at the border also died after the farmers’ agitation began. Dilpreet Singh, a DSP posted in Malerkotla, was sent on duty at Khanauri. He died of cardiac arrest on February 22 when he was working out in a gym in Ludhiana. He was taken to Ludhiana’s DMC hospital but could not be saved. He used to commute from Ludhiana to Malerkotla and these days to Khanauri for his work, said police sources.