New Delhi: Delhi-based farmer Pappan Singh Gahlot, who had bought flight tickets for labourers working in mushroom fields to send them home during the Covid-19 induced lockdown, died by suicide on Tuesday. In a suicide note found, Gahlot wrote that he is taking this extreme step due to "illness". The 55-year-old farmer is survived by his wife and a daughter.
Gahlot's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan inside a temple built in front of his house in Tigi Pur village of outer North Delhi on Tuesday evening. His body was spotted by a passerby after which the police were informed.
According to the police they got a call about the incident at around 5 pm. A suicide note was recovered from the spot, in which Gahlot cited an "illness" as the reason behind taking his life and also wrote that he himself is responsible for the act. Police has sent Gahlot's body to a nearby government hospital for post-mortem and further investigations are underway.
Gahlot came to the limelight after he sent his labourers to Bihar by flight so that they could meet their families during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He had booked tickets worth Rs 68,000 and was giving each Rs 3,000 in cash so the labourers don't face problems when they reach their home state, a PTI report stated.
The Delhi-based farmer had then said he made several attempts to send them back to their home state in a Shramik Special train but could not manage to do so.
As per news agency IANS, Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit had also read Pappan Singh Gahlot's story on a radio show describing how he helped people by going out of the way.