OROP suicide row LIVE: Grewal cremated as Rahul, Kejriwal join mourners; Delhi govt announces Rs 1 crore for veteran's kin

Former soldier Ram Kishan Grewal, who committed suicide demanding OROP's implementation, was cremated in his village on Thursday in the presence of hundreds of people including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

New Delhi: The suicide by Army veteran Ram Kishan Grewal' over One Rank One Pension (OROP) has snowballed into a huge political show with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other opposition leaders attacking the Narendra Modi-led central government.

03 November 2016

15:35 IST

Commenting on Grewal's suicide row, Haryana Chief MInsiter Manohar Lal Khattar says, 'Shaheed' are those who lay down their lives at the border, and not the persons who commit suicide.

15:15 IST

Congress leader Raj Babbar hits out at VK Singh for calling Grewal a Congress worker, says the BJP leader's mental status needs to be examined.

15:00 IST

Samajwadi party leader Azam Khan accuses Rahul Gandhi of playing politics over Grewal's alleged suicide.

14:51 IST

Union Minister VK Singh says Ram Kishan Grewal was a Congress worker who fought the sarpanch election on Congress tiket.

13:50 IST

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar says only one lakh ex-servicemen were facing problem in getting pension as per One Rank One Pension scheme and it will be resolved within two months.

12:55 IST

Delhi CM Kejriwal announces Rs 1 crore compensation for Grewal's family.

Calling the ex-soldier a martyr, the AAP convenor hit out at Modi government for 'failing' to implement OROP.

Notably, just days ago, PM Modi had said the first installment of nearly Rs 5,500 crore has been paid for implementing the OROP scheme.

"The OROP was not about just Rs 200 crore or Rs 500 crore, but Rs 10,000 crore... After I became the PM, and decided that I had to do (implement) it, the entire government lost sleep over it... It was not possible for the government to pay in one go, so I requested the ex-servicemen to accept it in four instalments.

"The money will reach them in four installments. Nearly, Rs 5,500 crore has been paid as the first installment," PM Modi had said.

12:03 IST

Ram Kishan Grewal's funeral begins; Kejriwal and Rahul in attendance.

11:59 IST

Defending the government, BJP MP Babul Supriyo reiterates party's stand that there should be a probe into Grewal's suicide incident.

Supriyo heaps praise on PM Modi for implementing the long-pending OROP scheme. The BJP MP from Asansol minced no words in slamming Kejriwal and Rahul for playing politics over the suicide of the ex-Army soldier.

11:24 IST

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Siddharth N Singh accused Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal of playing politics over the ex-Armyman's alleged suicide.

He said Rahul and Kejriwal are only interested in photo-ops.

11:03 IST

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O` Brien in Bamla to meet the family.

"I have come here on the directions of our leader Mamta Banerjee to be with the (Grewal) family," Brien said.

11:02 IST

Haryana government decides to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh and a job to one family member of Grewal.

10:30 IST

In a new twist, a friend of Ram Kishan Grewal made a sensational claim saying, some Army officers provoked his friend to commit suicide.

Hitting out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, the friend of Grewal said the Congress leader is just interested in playing politics the suicide.

Raising doubts over his friend's suicide, he urged the government to launch a probe and bring out the truth.

He also praised Modi government for implementing OROP.

09:39 IST

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi en route to Bhiwani to attend funeral of Army veteran Ram Kishan Grewal.

09:32 IST

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will visit the village of Ram Kishan Grewal to attend the funeral and meet the family of the deceased.

Will go to their village and meet Ram Kishan ji's family there today

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 3, 2016

09:03 IST

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien opines that the detention of Grewal's family was uncalled for. Sympathising with the army veteran's family, the TMC MP says the family members are going through 'double grieving', one is their detention, the other suicide of Grewal.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday termed as "unacceptable" the detention of her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal for trying to meet the family of a retired soldier who committed suicide.

The Trinamool Congress supremo had described as "unfortunate" the police decision to stop Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

09:03 IST

Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra attacks Narendra Modi-led central government says, let's not only talk jargons. The governmnet should do real thing for the soldiers.

While expressing his condolences, Vadra, a businessman by profession, questioned the detention of the family of Grewal. He demanded a probe into the whole incident.

Wednesday's developments

In an unprecedented move, police detained Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday after a veteran committed suicide over the OROP scheme. Gandhi, detained twice during the day, Sisodia and finally Kejriwal were let off at night.

In a scathing attack on the Modi government, Rahul said the Delhi police's action was symbolic of "undemocratic" mentality of the NDA dispensation, while Kejriwal called the situation worse than Emergency and accused the Prime Minister of being guilty of "deceit" and indulging in "lies" over the One Rank-One Pension(OROP) issue.

Twelve family members of the deceased, including his son Jaswant, were detained and some of them alleged that they were thrashed and abused by police when they came out of RML hospital to meet Rahul. Grewal's body was kept at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

The Congress and AAP leaders called the police action an assault on democracy and fundamental rights while calling the treatment meted out to the grieving family as "utterly shameful" and "unprecedented. The BJP on its part accused the Congress and AAP of playing politics over the suicide.

Autopsy conducted; body handed over 

The post-mortem of the ex-soldier who committed suicide over implementation of OROP was conducted late night on Wednesday, hospital authorities said.

Lady Hardinge Medical College Director Jagdish Chandra told IANS that the post-mortem was conducted late night on Wednesday and the body was handed over to the family.

Grewal, 70, formerly of Rajputana Rifles, allegedly took poison at a park and died demanding the immediate implementation of the scheme.

Before dying, he telephoned his son Jaswant and told him that he was committing suicide as a "sacrifice" for the nation, his family told the media.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he was "saddened by the death".