Patiala – In a much-shocking incident, a debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide by setting himself on fire, just hours before the wedding of his daughter, at Rajisala village in Patiala in the wee hours of Sunday.
Shockingly, on finding the victim’s charred body outside the house, his family cremated him on the spot without informing the police, and continued with his daughter’s wedding.
The farmer has been identified as Jaswant Singh, 65, a resident of Rajisala village in Patiala.
The police were informed only during the wedding ceremony, following which they reached the spot and recorded the family’s statements. However, a case was not registered in the absence of a complaint.
The victim’s brother, Nirmal Singh, told the police that they found a huge heap of straw lying outside the house burning on Sunday morning and started to pour water on it.
Two hours later, on dousing the fire, they were shocked to find Jaswant’s charred body lying there. With an impending wedding in the house, the villagers and the family members jointly decided to cremate Jaswant on the spot.
“It was a difficult situation, but we all decided not to halt the wedding of his daughter,” Nirmal said, adding that his brother was under a debt of Rs 3 lakh for long, but never discussed any trouble on Saturday night.
Samana station house officer (SHO) Gurpartap Singh said the incident took place around 5:30am, while the police received information only in the afternoon. No suicide note has been recovered.
The police said the family’s statements had been recorded and investigation into the matter was on, adding that they were yet to rule out demand for dowry.
The victim is survived by his four married daughters and a son. His wife and daughter-in-law were killed in a road accident last year, while his son was left disabled.