Congress demands removal of SSP over farmer's suicide in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar

Rudrapur, Jan 13 (PTI) Raising concerns over the police's handling of the alleged suicide of a farmer in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district, the Congress party on Tuesday demanded the immediate removal of the district’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

The party further stated that if the SSP is not removed by January 15, they will stage a protest at the state police headquarters.

Congress state president Ganesh Godiyal and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Yashpal Arya made this demand during a press conference held here after meeting the family members of the deceased farmer, Sukhwant Singh from Paiga village in Kashipur. Deputy Leader of the Opposition Bhuvan Kapri and Haldwani MLA Sumit Hridayesh were also present at the event.

Godiyal criticised the suspension of two sub-inspectors from the Police Kotwali ITI and the transfer of all policemen from the Paiga police outpost following the incident, describing these actions as mere "window dressing." He emphasised, "As long as the top police officer of the district remains in his position, questions will continue to be raised about the investigation. We demand that the SSP be removed immediately. Only then will a fair and transparent investigation be possible." The Congress leader also alleged that under the BJP government, the law and order situation in the state has completely deteriorated, emboldening criminals.

He asserted that the death of farmer Sukhwant Singh was not just a case of an individual suicide but a failure of the entire system.

Referring to the statement made by the farmer before his death, Godiyal highlighted that a case should have been registered based on his testimony. However, he pointed out that no police officer had been named as an accused in the case.

"In such a situation, the question arises that when the accused are outside the investigation process, how will a fair investigation be possible?" he questioned.

Meanwhile, Arya expressed concern that the farmer was allegedly driven to take his own life due to continuous harassment by the police.

He stated, "A farmer was harassed to such an extent that he had to take his own life. This is not just the case of one family, but of all the farmers in the state. Until Sukhwant Singh's family gets justice, the Congress will stand firmly with them." Sukhwant Singh, aged 40, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in a hotel room in Haldwani, Nainital district, early Sunday morning. Before the incident, the farmer had posted a video on social media in which he claimed that some people had cheated him of nearly four crore rupees in the name of land. In the video, Singh also alleged that the police had not taken any action on his complaint. PTI DPT HIG HIG