A "debt-burdened" farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison in Dug town of chief minister Vasundhra Raje's home district Jhalawar, day after a 66-year-old farmer took the extreme step in the same district.
Sheikh Hanif (60) consumed poison at his home last evening, SHO Dug police station Lav Kumar said.
He was rushed to a local hospital from where doctors referred him to district government hospital in Jhalawar where he died during treatment, he said.
Hanif's family members said he had borrowed loans from a cooperative society and local money lenders and was facing financial crisis in repaying the said amount as the crops had consistently been damaged in natural calamities for the last three years.
The frustration for not being able to repay the amount drove him to commit suicide, they said.
However, Kumar denied the debt as reason behind the extreme step by Hanif.
He had been suffering from diabetes and a kidney problem for over a year and was under depression. His family members have also not mentioned any debt against the deceased in the report to the police, he said.
A case under section 174 of CrPC has been registered in this connection and further investigation is underway, the SHO said, adding the body was handed over to the family members after post mortem.
At least four farmers have died or committed suicide allegedly due to debt and financial crises in Hadouti region this month.
A 32-year-old farmer, a garlic cultivator, identified as Satyanarayan Meena, resident of Roun village in Baran district, collapsed on June 3 after learning about the garlic purchase price of Rs 5 per kg in vegetable mandi near Aero dram circle. He was rushed to a government hospital where doctors declared him as brought dead.
Later, the post mortem report confirmed the death of the farmer due to a cardiac arrest. The deceased had reached the mandi with 46 quintals of garlic yield, but when he heard the prices were as low as Rs 5 per kg, he fainted.
On June 21, the dead body of a farmer, identified as Sanjeev Meena (30), resident of Sakrawada village in Baran district, was found hanging from a mango tree in nearby jungles.
The family members of the deceased claimed the farmer had ended his life due to heavy debt but the district officials ruled out any such possibility.
Meena owned about 12-15 bigas of agriculture land in the village and has had a good yield, officials had said, adding the farmer was not likely to be running under debt.
The investigation revealed the deceased farmer was reportedly under depression for past sometime after his mother and 22-year-old younger brother had died in last few years, a police official at Nahargarh police station had said.
Similarly, the 66-year-old "debt-ridden" farmer, identified as Bardhi Lal Rathore, had on June 23 committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in his agriculture field in Suneil town of Jhalawar district. However, the district officials here too denied the farmer having committed suicide due to debt.
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