New Delhi, April 22: A farmer died at the end of a towel fashioned into a noose in full view of 5,000 people at Jantar Mantar this afternoon in the middle of an Aam Aadmi Party rally that continued apace despite the tragedy.

The death of Gajendra Singh Rajput, 41, had the hallmarks of a suicide as he had climbed a tree and tied a noose around his neck with a towel. However, whether he deliberately took the last step of hanging himself or lost his foothold and was asphyxiated is not clear.

The immediate response of the party that rules Delhi - chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was present and he addressed the rally against the land bill after the incident - and an insensitive remark by an AAP leader ignited outrage.

The death also brought into sharp focus the impact of unseasonal rains and low commodity prices on farmers - a constituency for which most political parties are competing with one another. The emotive fallout of the tragedy is expected to make the going tougher for the land bill. (See Page 4)

But it has not been established conclusively whether crop destruction - which was mentioned in a letter Gajendra apparently lobbed to the crowd - was the primary and sole reason that prompted him to put a noose around his neck.

The letter attributed to him suggests distress but does not mention any intention to commit suicide. In fact, after saying his father had turned him out of home, Gajendra added in the letter: " Mujhe ghar jaane ka upay batayen (tell me a way to go home)."

The letter reads: "Friends, I am a son of a farmer. My dad turned me out of home because my crops have been destroyed. I have three children. I am from Rajasthan's Dausa district.... Tell me a way to go home. Jai Jawan. Jai Kisan. Gajendra Singh...."

At Jantar Mantar, the capital's protest plaza, the AAP's Kisan Rally had attracted almost 5,000 people from across the country to protest against the land bill that critics say dilutes several provisions in a previous version passed by the UPA.

Cameras captured every move of Gajendra on the neem tree - opposite to which is another from which hangs an effigy representing the Indian farmer compelled to commit suicide.

The footage sent shock waves which turned into outrage when AAP Delhi convener Ashutosh said: "It is Arvind's fault he did not climb the tree. The CM of Delhi must climb the tree and bring people down."

Ashutosh, who was replying to a question why the rally went on despite the hanging, later apologised for his remark.

Like other AAP leaders, Ashutosh, through sarcasm, was trying to suggest that Delhi police, which do not report to the state government, were responsible for the death.

In his speech, Kejriwal, who may not have been aware that the motionless Gajendra who had fallen on a plastic sheet while being brought down from the tree had died, blamed the police when he made a passing reference to the tragedy. "You (Delhi police) may not report to my government, but don't you report to God? Isn't there any humanity in you? Do you need orders to save a man," the chief minister said.

The incident took place just before chief minister Kejriwal was scheduled to speak. When Gajendra climbed the tree and knotted the noose, many appeared to have assumed that it was a stunt.

Already enraged by protesting schoolteachers who were taking the focus away from the rally, AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh cried conspiracy when Gajendra put the noose around his neck.

After visiting the hospital, where Gajendra's body was taken, AAP leader Somnath Bharti tweeted: "Disturbing and shocked to see a young man attempting to commit suicide by hanging from the tree. It seems to be a well thought conspiracy."

In the absence of clear conclusions, Gajendra's death revived memories of the "self-immolation" attempt by Rajeev Goswami, a college student, in October 1990 at the height of the anti-reservation protests in Delhi.

Goswami suffered 85 per cent burns but survived and went on to become the president of the Delhi University Students' Union. However, he died in 2004 following complications linked to the immolation bid.

Suggestions had been made that Goswami did not intend to kill himself but suffered the grievous burns as his associates, who were supposed to douse the flames, fled because of a baton charge by the police.