BHOPAL: Four more farmers have allegedly committed suicide since Wednesday night in Madhya Pradesh.
A total of 21 farmers have so far committed suicide in the state since June 8.
A 50-year-old farmer Shatrughan Meena allegedly consumed poison at his house in Guadiya village near Budhni town in Sehore district on Thursday morning. His kin alleged that Meena was under pressure to repay a loan of Rs 10 lakh borrowed from a private lender. Also, he had sunk into a state of depression upon knowing that his land records were missing in the Budhni Tehsil.
Recently, the chief minister had announced that copies of land records will be provided free of cost to farmers. But the deceased farmer’s kin alleged that despite going to Budhni tehsil several times, they were unable to get their missing land records.
In another incident, Shyam Kumar Yaduvasnhi, a farmer allegedly took his life by consuming pesticide in Chhindwara district on Thursday. His kin claimed that two days ago, the staff of electricity department and a nationalised bank had come to his house for the recovery of outstanding dues. Police are investigating the incident.
Two other suicides were reported from Sagar and Chhatarpur districts. A 48-year-old farmer identified as Gulai Kurmi, a native of the Khimlasa area in the district, allegedly hung himself on Wednesday evening.
A suicide note purportedly written by the farmer blamed a private money lender from whom he had borrowed `1 lakh. Using some fabricated documents, the money lender Shankar Udayniya made Kurmi mortgage a large part of his land as a security for the loan.
Although Kurmi repaid the loan amount, Udayniya demanded more claiming that the loan amount had peaked to `2.5 lakh. Udayniya threatened him with dire consequences, including loss of life in the event of non-payment.
The police are comparing the handwriting in the suicide note with that of Kurmi's handwriting found in other documents. Police promised stringent action against those named in the letter, if the proble could prove the letter's autheticity.
In another incident, a 75-year-old farmer Mahesh Tiwari took his life at his house in Sandhya Vihar Colony in Civil Lines area of Chhatarpur district on Wednesday night. He was allegedly under pressure to repay borrowed money.
However, the police said the primary probe revealed that Tiwari took his life owing to prolonged illness and not debt burden.