Fear of courts, menacing bank staff push farmer to suicide

Bharat Khanna

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 10

Unnerved by legal notices and the repeated visits of menacing bank employees for recovery of loan, a 53-year-old farmer of Chak Attar Singh Wala in Bathinda was driven to suicide last month. Only a day earlier he had filled a bail bond.  

Rajinder Singh Raja was declared a defaulter for failure to repay a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh to the Cooperative Bank, Kaljharani. He had also to repay Rs 40,000 to the village cooperative society.

Bank Manager Sherjit Singh said, “A defaulter, the farmer had filled a bail bond in a cheque bounce case.There were no arrest warrants against him.The farmer had submitted a cheque for Rs 1.5 lakh to the bank, but the cheque bounced.” Rajinder committed suicide on December 19 last by consuming poison. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. In the past six months, labourers Gora Singh (55) and Jasdeep Kaur also reportedly committed suicide at Chak Attar Singh Wala village.

“My father took loan to till six acres of land on lease. But the cotton crop did not yield profit either in 2014 or in 2015. Thereafter, we had no money to pay the landowner in advance to till the land. This season, my father decided to sow cotton on our own 1.5 acres of land but the whitefly attack ruined everything,” said the victim’s son Jaskaran, a matriculate working with a private factory on a meagre salary. “Bank officials would often visit our house. After my father was sent the second notice for the recovery of loan, he was terrified. We hastened to collect a sum of Rs 7,000 to get the arrest warrants, issued against him on December 17, cancelled. Two days later, my father committed suicide,” recalled Jaskaran Singh.

He said they had been paid Rs 11,800 as compensation for the damaged cotton crop.

Jaskaran said for small and medium farmers, agriculture was no longer profitable. “Three months ago, my salary was raised to Rs 5,000 per month. Earlier, I was paid a mere Rs 2,500. Now I have to look after the wheat crop that was sown by my father before he committed suicide,” he said, struggling to hold back his tears.

Farm labourer Jasdeep Kaur (28), also of  Chakk Attar Singh Wala, committed suicide on October 10 last year. Suffering from cancer, she could no longer bear the cost of treatment. Also, with the cotton crop ruined, the family could not get work in the fields. 

The victim’s husband, Jaskaran Singh Sonu, said, “We sold a number of household items, including TV and bicycle, to collect money for her treatment. I borrowed money from friends. The debt burden disheartened my wife. She jumped into a canal and died. I have to take care of our two daughters all by myself,” said an inconsolable Jaskaran.