KOZHIKODE: Tension prevailed at Chempanoda village in Kozhikode, where a farmer committed suicide by hanging himself in front of the village office here Wednesday night allegedly due to the indifferent attitude of the village officials. The deceased is Joy, 57, from Chempanoda ward in Chakkittapara grama panchayat.
Attempts by the police to remove the body of the farmer led to protests by locals who said the body could be removed only after the tehsildar visits the place. District collector U V Jose visited the place and sought reports from the village officials. The collector has placed Sileesh, village assistant, under suspension. The action comes in the wake of instructions from E Chandrasekharan, the revenue minister.
Electricity minister M M Mani who was in town for a meeting too visited the village office. He said this incident should not have happened and it is a blot on the reputation of the government. He assured action to ensure such incidents do not happen in the future. The revenue minister has asked the revenue secretary to file a detailed report at the earliest.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala condemned the incident and said that it has brought disgrace to the state and is a pointer to the level of corruption in the revenue department. He demanded the officials responsible should be charged with murder.
According to police, the incident happened on Wednesday around 9.30 pm at the Chempanoda village office. Joy took the extreme step as he was turned away by the village officials when he went there to pay tax for land owned by his family. Joy and his family had earlier gone on a hunger strike in front of the village office as the officials were not ready to accept the land tax.
Heavy police force has been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.
A dawn-to-dusk hartal has been called in Chakkittapara gram panchayat by Congress.