A farmer with a loan of Rs 4 lakh allegedly committed suicide in Maharashtra's Nashik district Saturday, with local officials claiming that the number of farmer suicides in the region stood at 108 for the current year.

Nilesh Dharmaraj Hyalij (28) hanged himself at around 9am Saturday in Mouje-Vajirkhede village in the district's Malegaon area, Tehsildar Jyoti Devare said. He had a pending loan of Rs 4 lakh, Devare added.

Vadner-Khakurdi police registered a case in connection with the farmer's death and were probing further to ascertain its cause.

On December 12, a 40-year-old farmer, identified as Prabhakar Walmik Hagavane of Nyaydongri village in Nandgaon tehsil here, allegedly committed suicide and a note purportedly written by him mentioned that he had taken loans from a bank and credit society, police said.

Sources in the Nashik collectorate said 108 farmers had committed suicide in the district in 2018, including 15 in November and nine in December.

Of these, 20 cases are from Baglan, 16 from Dindori and 15 from Malegaon, these sources informed.

Officials said that inquiries with the kin of these farmers revealed that loans, lack of rainfall this monsoon and crop damage were among the reasons for the extreme step.

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