Security personnel at AAP rally where a farmer hanged himself on Wednesday
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers were clapping when a farmer hanged himself at the party's rally in Delhi on Wednesday and did not cooperate in saving him, the police have alleged in an FIR or First Information Report.
In the middle of an intense blame-game, the Delhi police today refused to join a magisterial probe ordered by the AAP government, saying that it has no jurisdiction.
The FIR has the account of a policeman, Inspector SS Yadav, who alleges that AAP workers obstructed them at every step, from the time Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh climbed a tree to when he hanged himself. Home Minister Rajnath Singh endorsed the police version.
"Policemen at the spot alerted the control room and asked for a fire tender with a long ladder, so that this person could be brought down. The Delhi police tried to stop the crowd from provoking Gajendra. In such cases, people involved in such acts should be engaged in conversation and persuaded. But the people at the rally kept clapping, making noise," Mr Singh said in Parliament.
The policeman says in the complaint that he alerted the control room immediately after noticing the man on the tree at 12.50 pm. "I appealed to clapping AAP volunteers not to encourage him and help pull him down. But neither the AAP leaders on stage nor the volunteers helped," he claims.
AAP volunteers refused to make way for the fire brigade, the FIR says.
"Seeing the farmer tying the gamchha (cloth), the workers alerted the AAP leadership on stage, and the other workers and leaders started clapping loudly. Incited by the crowd, Gajendra hanged himself, and a part of his body was stuck in the branches," the policeman says.
"Some workers climbed the tree. We told them that we could use the fire ladder, but AAP workers didn't listen and untied the cloth around his neck, causing him to fall to the ground," he adds.
AAP, which has blamed the Delhi Police, accused the home minister of conspiring against the party.