Five farmers have committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh in one week (Representational photo)
Three farmers have ended their lives in Madhya Pradesh in the last 24 hours, taking the number of farmer suicides in the state in the last week to five.
The latest reports of suicides come right after a slew of measures announced by the state government to contain the acute agrarian distress and anger after five farmers were killed in police firing at Mandsaur on June 6.
Two allegedly debt-ridden farmers committed suicide at Jajna village in Sehore district and in Bhairpur village of Hoshangabad district, respectively. Also, a farmer from Vidisha district died during treatment in Bhopal where he was admitted after consuming poison yesterday.
A debt-ridden 55-year old farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance yesterday at Jajna village in Sehore, the home district of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Dulichand Keer, the farmer, was declared brought dead at the hospital.
Rehti police station in-charge Pankaj Geete said, "The cause behind the death is a matter of investigation, but he had a debt of Rs 6 lakh."
Keer's son Sher Singh claimed that his father ended his life due to mounting debt. He had borrowed Rs four lakh from banks and another Rs two lakh from other sources.
District collector Sudam Khade, however, said the reason behind the suicide was still not clear. Kriparam Digodiya (68) allegedly killed himself in Bhairopur village in Hoshangabad district. His body was found hanging from a tree at his farm.
Family members said that Kriparam was depressed due to worries about loan repayment. He had also sold off parts of his agricultural land.
Shivpur police station in-charge Monish Bais said Kriparam was claimed to have been under depression. "We are investigating further," he added.
Another farmer, a resident of Jirapur under Shamshabad police station of Vidisha district, ended life yesterday.
Hari Singh Jatav (40) died during treatment in Bhopal after having consumed poison, Shamshabad police station in-charge Sudama Prasad Shukla said.
Shamshabad tehsildar Israr Khan said Jatav had some dispute with family members over demarcation of farmland.
A major farmers' agitation roiled western Madhya Pradesh between June 1 and June 11. On June 6, five persons were killed in police firing at Mandsaur. Main demands of farmers were loan waiver and remunerative prices for produce.