Two more farmers commit suicide in MP; seven in one week

Bhopal, June 14

Two farmers have committed suicide in Balaghat and Barwani districts of Madhya Pradesh since Tuesday evening, police said on Wednesday — the latest deaths taking the number of farmer suicides reported in the state since June 8 to seven.

Ramesh Basene (42) ended his life by drinking pesticide at Ballarpur village in Balaghat district this morning. He died at the district hospital, police said.

Basene’s wife Jankibai said that he was unable to repay a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh. The authorities however didn’t confirm whether indebtedness led to the suicide.

“A tehsildar has been sent to the village for inquiry,” said the district collector Bharat Yadav.

Another farmer, Shomla (60) allegedly committed suicide by drinking pesticide at Pisnawal in Barwani district last evening.

Sub-inspector R Mujalde of Sendhwa police station said that according to Shomla’s wife, he had taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh from a private lender and he also owed Rs 1 lakh to a bank. He was finding it difficult to repay the loans, she told police.

The reports come in the wake of a slew of measures announced by the state government to mollify agitating farmers and death of five protesters in police firing in Mandsaur district on June 6.

Since June 8, the state, roiled by farmers’ protest, has witnessed a total of seven farmer suicides. Pervious incidents were reported from Sehore, Hoshangabad, Raisen and Vidisha districts. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said on Tuesday that not all farmer suicides in the state could be attributed to mounting farm debts.

Meanwhile, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, began a 72-hour Satyagraha at T T Nagar’s Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal this afternoon.

The scion of the erstwhile royal family of Gwalior, garlanded the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on stage before sitting on ‘satyagraha’.

Pictures of six farmers — five of them killed in police firing — were also put up on the stage.

Scindia and his supporters were yesterday detained in Ratlam while on way to Mandsaur, amid dramatic scenes.

He had accused the state’s BJP government of being dictatorial and vowed to fight for the cause of the farmers.