He Hanged Himself With a Towel As Ministers Discussed Farmer Suicides

Mangalore Today News Network

Hyderabad, Sep 21, 2015:  On Saturday evening in Hyderabad, as the Telangana cabinet discussed farmer suicides, less than 10 km away, a 58-year-old man climbed the high wall of a pump house and hanged himself with a towel.

 

Mallesh had moved to Hyderabad only a week ago from his home in the neighbouring Medak district, the constituency of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao. His crops had failed due to the drought and he was buried in debt.

Mallesh did find a job as a security guard at an apartment complex, but with a salary of Rs. 6,500, he could not hope to repay his farm debts for a long time.

His family says he had been extremely depressed over the past few days.

The police found his mobile phone on his body and contacted his family.

Mallesh’s brother-in-law Srinivas told the police that he was a farmer and owned one and a half acres of land in Medak, but his crop had been destroyed in drought.

Mallesh, who belongs to the fishermen’s community, also had a share in a fishing tank but that did not come to anything either.

He owed over Rs. 1.5 lakh in agricultural loans, said Srinivas.

The district administration is investigating whether Mallesh took his own life because of farm debts.

Some of his relatives wondered if the family would get enhanced compensation for farmer suicides, announced by the state government just a day after Mallesh’s alleged suicide.

Families of farmers who have committed suicide will be given Rs. 6 lakh instead of Rs. 1.5 lakh, the government said on Saturday.

Mallesh and his wife stayed alone in Medak; their two daughters and a son are all married and live separately. The police say that could be among the reasons he was depressed.

According to the government, 430 farmer suicides have been reported in the last one year, and of these, 141 were eligible for compensation according to the government’s criteria.

Opposition parties allege that at least 1,200 farmers have killed themselves.

 

Courtesy: NDTV