Rajasthan farmer 'depressed over debt' kills self

A 32-year-old debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison at his home in Sripura village here in Rajasthan, police said today.
The family members of the farmer, Murlidhar Meena, have claimed that he was depressed for the past few days over the financial burden, even as police officials said the cause of the death is yet to be ascertained.
The family members also added that Meena was having trouble in his marital life and his wife along with their children had moved to her parents' house, a day prior to the incident, a police official said.
Meena, a garlic cultivator, returned home drunk last evening after selling his yield at a market in nearby Baran city. He was reportedly depressed over his produce being sold at "shockingly-low" price, SHO Narayan Singh said.

He spoke on the phone to his in laws and wife before consuming poison and died late in the night during treatment at Maharao Bheem Singh (MBS) hospital in Kota, he said.
Meena had borrowed loan from Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and from other banks and was running under heavy debt, his family members have told the police, Singh said.

The body was handed over to the family after post-mortem at MBS hospital in Kota this morning and a case has been registered by the police.
Viscera has been sent to laboratory for test and the exact reason behind his death could be clear only when the report is received, the SHO added.

This is the fifth alleged suicide by a debt-ridden farmer in Kota region in the ongoing month of June.
The government officials, however, maintained that none of the five farmers took to the extreme step due to debt.
Rajasthan agriculture minister Prabhu Lal yesterday claimed that no farmer in the state has committed suicide due to financial reasons.
Lal, speaking in Baran district, also said that if any farmer in the state is proved to have committed suicide due to agriculture crisis or debt, he would quit politics.