Jharsuguda: A debt-ridden farmer, Yudhistir Mallick, allegedly committed suicide by hanging at his house at Samasingha under Kolabira police limits in Jharsuguda district Sunday morning.
Police reached the village and launched an investigation. A case of unnatural death was registered and the body was sent for autopsy to the district headquarters hospital (DHH).
According to family members, Mallick was a sharecropper and had taken loans from private moneylenders and banks to cultivate paddy in the kharif season.
However, his hopes of a bumper harvest were dashed as he suffered severe crop loss due to the recent natural disasters and unseasonal rain. Moreover, his crops were affected by pests, bringing him huge loss, the family said.
The little quantity of paddy that Mallick had managed to save could hardly feed his family. The pressure of running the family and repaying the loans had a heavy toll on Mallick.
“We don’t have land of our own. We work as sharecropper and had taken some loan for paddy cultivation. But, we suffered crop loss. My husband ended his life as he was under stress due to the loan burden” said Draupadi Mallick, wife of the deceased,” Mallick’s wife said.
Locals demanded immediate compensation for the bereaved family. Revenue officials arrived in the village and launched a probe into the incident.
“The farmer had taken loans and had hoped to repay through current year harvest. He was disturbed after he suffered crop loss and took the extreme step,” said Sarpanch, Hemant Kumar Sahu.
“Mallick is now survived by his wife and four minor children. As he was the sole earning member, the family should be provided with financial assistance from the government,” Sahu added.
PNN