Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Baba Ramdev’s supporter Raj Bala, who died on Monday after being in coma for over three months following police action while breaking up a meeting of yoga guru in June, was cremated on Tuesday in her village Bhutana, near Sonepat in Haryana.
Apart from Baba Ramdev, BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Smriti Irani attended her cremation ceremony.
Raj Bala, who had suffered a crippling spinal injury on the night of June 4 at the Ramlila Grounds, was hospitalized for 114 days.
The lady passed away at the GB Pant Hospital following a cardiac arrest yesterday.
She was the most seriously injured among the 100 Ramdev supporters who suffered a variety of wounds after Delhi Police used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the thousands from the ground.
Rakesh Malik, the dead woman's daughter-in-law, had blamed police for the demise of Raj Bala, who lived in Gurgaon adjoining Delhi.
"It happened because of the police...We all know on whose authority police took action. The whole country knows why this happened," she added.
Rakesh Malik said the family would get together in a few days from now and decide whether they should file a suit against the administration. But she made it clear that they were not hungry for compensation money.
She expressed disgust that the authorities left the elderly woman to fend for herself after reducing her to a cripple. "Four months have gone by, what have the governments done? We didn't even get a word of sympathy from the government," she said.
Raj Bala was one of the thousands who had thronged the Ramlila Grounds at Ramdev's fast against corruption when police barged in.
Meanwhile, Baba Ramdev today slammed the Centre for allowing Delhi Police to beat his supporters gathered at the Ramlila Grounds in early June, which led to the tragic death of Raj Bala.
The yoga guru, who reached the national capital this morning for Raj Bala’s funeral, said, “The Centre will have to answer who killed Raj Bala. The Centre will have to answer who should be held responsible for her death.”
Ramdev stated, “It is highly unfortunate that Centre allowed Delhi Police to beat hundreds of his innocent supporters for no apparent reasons. I urge the centre government to punish those guilty for Raj Bala’s death at the earliest.”
The yoga guru also assured the gathering that his counsel Ram Jethmalani will contest the case against Centre in court till the end and seek speedier justice. He also praised Raj Bala’s family members for bearing the loss of her life and maintaining their composure in the times of difficulty.
First Published: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 09:28