india

Updated: Jun 29, 2017 23:24 IST

Four more farmers allegedly committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh since Wednesday, bringing the toll up to 33 since June 6, when violent farmers’ protests rocked the state.

According to a PTI report, the Congress claimed that 40 deaths have taken place this month and in the past 22 days, nine farmers have committed suicide in Sehore, home district of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Police said that two cases of suicide were reported from Sehore, and one each from Mandsaur and Hoshangabad districts in the last 24 hours. Mahariya Barela, 55, was found hanging from the branch of a tree in his agricultural field in Imlikheda village of Sehore district.

His wife Riya Bai said he took the extreme step as he was under distress due to a debt of ₹1 lakh from different banks, cooperative societies and private lenders. Naib Tehsildar Kuldeep Dubey, after visiting the spot, said the exact reason of his death would be known only after an inquiry.

In Badnagar village of Sehore district, 45-year old farmer Jagdish Chowdhary committed suicide in his field last evening by consuming a poisonous substance. Chowdhary’s son Dharmendra claimed his father was disturbed due to repeated crop failure in the past couple of years.

In Mandsaur, the epicentre of the farmers’ stir in the state, 65-year-old Bhagawan Meghwal hanged himself to death from the branch of a tree at his farm in Bardia Puna village on Wednesday, police said.

Meghwal’s wife Geeta Bai claimed that most of their agricultural land was mortgaged to arrange money for her treatment.

Assistance sub inspector (ASI) of Shamgarh police station, Var, Singh Katar, said further investigations are underway.

Tehsildar of the area, Radha Mahant, said family members of Meghwal are claiming that he had also taken loan from a cooperative society.

In Sandia village of Hoshangabad district, 53-year-old farmer Gulab Singh committed suicide by hanging himself at his farm on Thursday morning, Pipariya police station in-charge Keerat Prasad Dhurve said.

The police officer said the farmer left a suicide note in which he said that he was taking the extreme step on his own and that nobody should be held responsible for this.