Debt-ridden farmer allegedly commits suicide in Maharashtra's Vidarbha

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A farmer from Maharashtra's Vidarbha region on Tuesday allegedly committed suicide in by consuming a poisonous chemical. Police said the farmer, belonging to the Yavatmal district of the region, took his life due to crop loss.

50-year-old Shankar Chayare consumed a poisonous chemical and died while he was being taken to Yavatmal city for treatment, the police said. The loss of cotton crop due to a pest attack is suspected to be the prime reason behind the farmer taking the extreme step, the police added.

A police official said a purported suicide note was also recovered.

"The police have seized a purported suicide note. It mentions the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holds him responsible (for the suicide), but we are yet to verify its authenticity and the actual cause of the death," Yavatmal Superintendent of Police (SP) Raj Kumar told PTI.

He said the post-mortem report was awaited, following which the authenticity of the purported suicide note would be verified.

"Chayare had taken a loan of Rs 90,000 from a local credit cooperative society and borrowed Rs 3 lakh from a private money lender. He was a resident of Rajurwadi village under the Ghatanji police station limits in Yavatmal district," the SP said.

In Yavatmal district, the suicide of a distressed farmer was, for the first time, officially registered on March 19, 1986. Several farmer leaders in Maharashtra had observed a token fast on March 19 this year to draw the government's attention to the problem of agricultural distress.

(With Inputs from Agencies)

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