The farmer in Telangana allegedly ate chicken curry laced with pesticide to commit suicide.
Highlights
- Telangana farmer, son allegedly ate chicken curry laced with pesticide
- They died at home in Siddipet; farmer's wife, younger son in hospital
- Farmer was steeped in debt, was reportedly trying sell land
A 60-year-old farmer and his son died moments after eating chicken curry laced with pesticide on Tuesday night.
Balaiah reportedly bought chicken and cooked it for a family meal in their home in Siddipet, around 100 km from Hyderabad. When his wife and sons caught a whiff of a chemical, he claimed his clothes smelt because he had sprayed pesticide in the fields.
Balaiah and his older son died instantly. His wife Balalakshmi and younger son Prashant had less of the poisoned meal and are in hospital. They have told a magistrate they don't know what happened.
Balaiah's daughter and mother were fortunate that they did not have the chicken curry at all.
Neighbours say four years ago, Balaiah had gone to the Middle East for a job but returned with debts. A wedding last year pushed the family further into financial difficulties.
Balaiah had reportedly been looking to sell part of the agricultural land owned by the family to repay his debts. His father was reluctant and reportedly said they would not get a good price after the currency ban.
A lawmaker of the ruling TRS, Ramalinga Reddy, reportedly said Balaiah was depressed as the land prices had fallen after demonetization.
Local revenue official Uma Rani, however, says Balaiah wanted to poison everyone in his family because of a property dispute.