KORBA: A 45-year-old debt-ridden man allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison at the collector office in Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh today, police said.
Jagdish Baghel, a resident of Kurda village, who came at the collectorate here as part of the Jandarshan programme, was rushed to a local hospital after his condition worsened, Janjgir-Champa collector S Bharathidasan said.
"Baghel died during treatment at the hospital, where doctors confirmed that he had consumed poison," he added.
Though the exact cause that prompted him to take the extreme step was yet to be ascertained, preliminary probe revealed that he had borrowed money from different people for separate reasons, he said.
Local officials have been asked to probe the matter, the collector added.
In the state, Jandarshan programmes are organised in collectorates on every Monday, where common people can raise their personal problems by filing applications.
According to police, Baghel reportedly had a debt of around Rs 6 lakh and he was distressed over it.
"The deceased had taken credit of Rs around 6 lakh from different people, including his neighbour, for his daughter's marriage, construction of his house and other reasons," a local police official said.
He had borrowed money from two persons reportedly assuring them to sale his land to them. However, he had later refused to do so, following which the creditors were behind him asking him to repay their money, he said.
A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation was on, he added.