Another farmer commits suicide, fifth in Rajasthan in 2 weeks

Yash Goyal

Jaipur, June 28 

A 32-year-old farmer has allegedly committed suicide after suffering losses in garlic crop, adding to the number of farmers who have taken their life in Hadauti belt in Kota, Rajashtan.

This is the fourth suicide by a farmer in this belt and fifth in Rajasthan in the last two weeks.

He was allegedly under debt. He committed suicide by consuming sulphas with liquor at Sripura village in Kota-Rural on Monday night.

Murlidhar Meena after complaining of vomiting was shifted from one hospital to another in Hadauti region but finally he succumbed at Kota’s government hospital in the wee hours of Tuesday, SHO Ayana police station Narayan Singh told The Tribune on Wednesday.

In an FIR, Kailash Shankar, the deceased’s brother, alleged that Meena had gone for selling garlic at a mandi in Baran on Monday, and after returning from there he consumed sulphas tables with liquor.

Meena, survived by a wife and two kids, was reeling under financial liability, quoting the FIR the SHO said.

The FIR is lodged under Section 174 of the CrPC. It is being probed to ascertain the exact cause of his death and his bank accounts are being searched to know his financial status, he added.

The body was handed over to the family on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, state Agriculture Minister Prabhulal Saini denied of any such debt burden related to farmer suicides in the state. 

Saini told The Tribune said the cause of the death of none of the farmers’ suicide was ascertained to be ‘debt burden’. 

“The government is there to help farmers for crop related issues like sowing, fertilisers, seeds, insurance and crop damage claims”, Saini said.

Let the police department come with a factual report of those farmers who died of alleged suicides, then the state government would consider and assess the situation, he added.