OROP suicide: Rahul, Kejriwal head to Haryana for ex-serviceman's funeral

Grewal commited suicide by consuming sulpha tablets on Tuesday. The funeral will be held in his village in Bhiwani.

New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday headed to Haryana for the funeral of retired serviceman Ram Kishen Grewal, who committed suicide over non-payment of One Rank One Pension (OROP) on Tuesday.

Grewal's funeral will be held in his village in Bhiwani, a little over a 100 km from Delhi.

Rahul Gandhi is scheduled reach the village by 9.30 am. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’ Brien drove all night to reach Bhiwani early morning on Thursday.

The subedar, who served in the Army for 30 years, ate sulphas tablets on Tuesday afternoon in the lawns of a government building, and died in a hospital on Wednesday.

His suicide caused Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal to make attempts to meet his family at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on Wednesday. Both were detained - Rahul twice - before being let off. Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was also kept in detention by the police, who refused to allow entry of political leaders into the hospital for 'safety reasons'.

(This story first appeared in Deccan Chronicle)