Delhi Police investigating if Gajendra was only trying to pull a stunt

The police are investigating if the death of Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh, who allegedly hanged himself in front of thousands of people at Jantar Mantar on August 22, was a ‘stunt’ gone wrong.

The police are investigating if the death of Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh, who allegedly hanged himself in front of thousands of people at Jantar Mantar on August 22, was a ‘stunt’ gone wrong.

There are reports of a relative in the farmer’s home town claiming to have received a call from Gajendra who reportedly asked him to switch on the television and watch the news, an hour before his death.

The Delhi Police, however, did not confirm this report.

Police sources said that after recording the statement of Singh’s family members, it is clear that Singh did not have financial problems. Days before his death, he had a tiff with his father who scolded him for not working in the fields despite losing their crops in the unseasonal rain last month.

The family owned more than 20 bighas of agricultural land in their village.

Investigation so far has revealed that Singh made some money from the contracts he received from hotels across Rajasthan for tying turbans on guests and displaying his skill of quickly tying numerous turbans within a minute.

“There was a marriage in the family and he had promised to give money to the girl’s father. The statements of the family also do not indicate any heavy loss suffered by the family,” said a police officer.

On Monday, a crime branch team visited the neem tree along with forensic experts. The police recreated the scene on the branch where Singh was seen sitting.

Sources said some people have come forward claiming to be eyewitnesses to the incident. While the crime branch did not confirm or deny this, there are reports that the eyewitnesses first approached the local police, claiming that they had spotted Singh with some leaders of the AAP on the day of the incident.

Joint commissioner of police (crime) RS Yadav was not available for any comments despite repeated attempts.

At the police headquarters, police commissioner BS Bassi refused to confirm if the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party would be questioned. “It is the decision of the investigating officer,” he said when asked if the party leaders would be examined.

Meanwhile, the magisterial probe ordered by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been completed. A report will be submitted by the sub-divisional magistrate on Friday.