Another farmer commits suicide in MP

BHOPAL/DHAR: Another farmer ended his life at Rampura village in Dhar district on Friday, taking the total number of agriculturerelated suicides in Madhya Pradesh to twelve since the start of this month.

The victim, 40-year-old Jagdish Mori, consumed insecticide on Friday afternoon allegedly because he was unable to repay a loan taken against his father’s property. He died the same night in a Dhar hospital.

Relatives said Jagdish was under a lot of pressure to settle the debt.

However, police dismissed reports that the farmer had committed suicide due to loan repayment concerns. Dhar SP, Birendra Singh said that he took the extreme step because of a family dispute and the deceased has no land in his name.

“Jagdish could not have taken a loan because he had no land to call his own. He was an alcoholic who decided to kill himself after a dispute with his family,” said Dhar superintendent of police Birendra Singh.

The state recently witnessed a big farmers’ stir over loan waiver, farm produce prices and

FARMER JAGDHISH’S FAMILY SAYS HE WAS UNDER PRESSURE TO REPAY A LOAN HE HAD TAKEN AGAINST HIS FATHER’S PROPERTY

other demands.

The government has struggled to contain the acute agricultural crisis, despite assurances from the chief minister and promises of a partial loan waiver. Farmers say they are caught in a cycle of plummeting crop prices, a demonetisation-induced cash crunch and exploitative middlemen.

The death of five farmers in police firing in Mandsaur district on June 6 during the unrest had triggered a series of protests in various parts of the state. Violent protests had rocked the Malwa region putting the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government on the backfoot.

Since June 8, the state has witnessed 12 farmer suicides across Sehore, Hoshangabad, Raisen and Vidisha districts.

RECOVERY NOTICE TRIGGERS SUICIDE

A 60-year-old farmer from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand committed suicide allegedly after being served a recovery notice by a bank from which he had taken a farm loan.

“We found a bank recovery notice beneath the mattress on his bed. He had taken a loan of ₹50,000 loan from the rural bank some six months ago. We could not repay the loan as our crop got damaged in heavy rain and hailstorm,” farmer Surendra Singh’s wife, Manju, said.

The family members said Singh was hoping for a loan waiver. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the circumstances leading to the farmer’s death.