Farmer, farm labourer commit suicide in Bundelkhand

Bhopal, June 26 (IANS) A farmer and a farm labourer committed suicide reportedly due to debt burden and a financial crunch in two separate incidents in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Monday.

According to police, Barelal Ahirwar, 65, of Phutera village in Tikamgarh district committed suicide on Sunday by hanging himself from a tree in his farm.

The deceased, who had six acres of land, had taken a loan to dig three wells for irrigating his field but water never flowed from them, his family said.

The condition of Barelal, who had two sons, did not improve even after he got money under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. As people started coming to his place for debt recovery, he apparently committed suicide under stress.

"His family members say that his mental condition was not good and that is why he committed suicide. But we are yet to ascertain whether he actually had a loan on him," T.K. Singh, the Officer Incharge of Kharga Police Station, told IANS.

In the other incident, a farm labourer, Bhawanideen alias Bhaiyyalal Kushwaha, 36, committed suicide on Sunday by hanging himself from a tree in Chhatarpur district. 

He used to do sharecropping, but due to recurring loss, he later took to working as a labourer, his family said.

He was in tension for the last few days due to a financial crunch, Ward Councillor Kanchhedi Kushwaha and neighbours said.

Rajnagar Police Station Officer Incharge K.S. Paraste, however, said the reason for the suicide was yet to be established.