UP minister's convoy allegedly drove over the fields of farmer while on its way to Bundelkhand.
A farmer in Uttar Pradesh was left in tears as a minister's cars drove over his field to save time and destroyed his crop in Bundelkhand, one of the poorest and most parched regions in the country. Consoling him, the minister, Jai Kumar Singh, stuffed a wad of notes worth Rs 4,000 into his pocket.
On Wednesday, Mr Singh, the UP minister for jails, was at a village for the opening of a cowshed. It was one of many events that the minister had attended in the area that day and he was apparently running behind schedule.
When the function ended, the minister's convoy, in a hurry to get to the road for another event, allegedly took a shortcut through the mustard fields of farmer Devendra Dohre.
Dohre says he immediately ran towards the cars and stopped them as best as he could.
But most of his crop had been ruined by then, he alleges. When the minister stepped out, Dohre fell at his feet. He was seen in visuals with folded hands and weeping about his destroyed crop.
"I am a poor farmer. I had taken a loan to sow mustard in my fields. The entire crop in my three bigha field is destroyed," Dohre told reporters covering the minister's visit.
Confronted by the media, the minister reached for the farmer's pocket and pushed cash into it, but Dohre said it was only a part of what he had lost.
Mr Singh said: "We had already given compensation to that farmer for whatever damage has been caused to his crops. Our government is very sensitive towards farmers. Right now I had given him Rs 4,000 in the form of compensation amount."
The farmer said he had taken a loan of Rs 8,000 to sow his crop.