LUCKNOW: A village development officer (VDO), Trivendra Kumar, ended his life after being allegedly harassed for being a Dalit, in Gola Block of Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. The victim left a suicide note, on the basis of which police have registered an FIR against eight individuals for abetment to suicide.
Kumar, a native of Azamgarh, was to get married on November 28. In his suicide note, the officer reportedly wrote that he was tired of being mentally tortured by the village heads and members of Kisan Union Party and that they were directly responsible for his death.
Sources said Kumar was found hanging inside his house in Shivsagar locality of Lakhimpur Kheri city on Thursday. His career, which began this year, turned out to be his nemesis as he was repeatedly subjected to harassment by two members of KUP, the village head of Rasoolpur and the son of the head of Devaria village.
A few hours after Kumar’s death, a video showing KUP members insulting him at a public meeting surfaced on social media. Two persons were held by police after receiving a written complaint from the district Panchayati Raj officer.
Kumar’s eight-month stint as VDO was replete with incidents of humiliation. As a result, he had started feeling upset. The final blow came earlier this week when Kumar was publicly insulted by the persons named in his suicide note.