SHAJAPUR: Burdened by debt, a farmer and his 17-year-old daughter allegedly killed themselves by consuming a poisonous substance at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Shajapur district on Thursday, police said.
Ishwar Singh Rajput (40) died at his home in Sapkheda village, about 50 km from the district headquarters, an official said.
On seeing him dead, Rajput's daughter Khushboo also consumed the poisonous substance and was rushed to a hospital, where she died during treatment, inspector Uday Singh Alawa of Kotwali police station said.
Following this, the deceased farmer's wife also tried to die by suicide, but her son managed to snatch the poisonous substance and threw it away.
A preliminary probe revealed that Ishwar Singh along with another man Guddu Khan had taken a four-bigha agricultural plot on lease from the owner Sushil Agrawal for vegetable cultivation four months ago.
Ishwar had also borrowed an undisclosed amount for getting the land on lease and cultivating vegetables. But when the vegetable crop got ready for harvest, relations between Ishwar and Guddu strained.
Guddu allegedly didn't allow Ishwar to enter the vegetable farm and started selling the harvest. As a result, Ishwar went into depression and took the extreme step on Thursday.
Shajapur Kotwali police station in-charge Udaylal Alawa said the statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded, which will be followed by further action.
(With PTI inputs)
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm)