Madhya Pradesh farmer's suicide note asks discom to sell organs for dues

BHOPAL: Under tremendous stress due to an electricity distribution company (discom) seizing his atta chakki (flour mill) and motorcycle for not paying outstanding electricity bills, a 35-year-old farmer allegedly hanged himself to death in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatapur district.

Munendra Rajput was found hanging near a well in Matguvan village on Friday. A suicide note purportedly written by him was recovered by the police in which the distressed farmer said his family should hand over his body to the electricity department staff so that they can sell his organs and recover the dues.

Rajput’s brother Lokendra alleged, “Owing to seizure of the flour mill and motorcycle and public humiliation by the electricity department staff for not paying the dues, my brother Munendra ended his life. Explaining the reason for pending dues, Lokendra said, “My brother was in deep financial crisis, as the previous kharif crop had been badly damaged. He was totally reliant on the small flour-mill but it was seized by the Chhatarpur Rural discom staff on Monday. When he requested for some more time to pay the dues, they publicly humiliated him.”

The police have started a probe while district collector Sheelendra Singh sanctioned Rs 25,000 as immediate assistance to the farmer’s kin.   This is the fourth case of farmer suicide in Bundelkhand region of MP. Earlier, two farmers had ended their lives in Panna district, while another had killed self in Sagar district.

Targeting the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government for its “hollow claim of good governance, Congress’s state media vice-president Bhupendra Singh said, “Will the government now fulfill the farmer’s last wish of selling his body parts to realise Rs 88,000?”

(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)