Indebted farmer commits suicide

A 71-year-old farmer,Saggar Singh,of Raunta village,situated some 40 kilometres from Moga,allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train on Monday.

Jagdish Singh,son of the deceased,said: My father had borrowed Rs 1. 5 lakh from Jagtar Singh,a local commission agent (arhtiya),a few years ago. We were unable to repay the amount and the arhtiya told us recently that amount,after adding interest,stands at Rs 7 lakh. This came as a shock for my father. Our landholding is very small and there is no way we can repay such a huge amount.

On Sunday,the agent along with some men came to our village to take claim of our land against which the loan had been taken. This upset my father to such an extent that he ended his life, added Jagdish.

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Meanwhile,the Moga Railway Police has booked Jagtar Singh under Sections 306,148 and 59 of the IPC for the suicide. According to SHO Gurmeet Singh: Jagtar is the middleman and we have registered a complaint against him though no arrest has been made yet.

Meanwhile,as farmer suicides continue to haunt Punjab,the lone suicide Census announced by the present Badal government has come to a halt due to financial problems. The government had announced the Census in August 2008 and a pilot survey conducted by Punjab Agricultural University in districts of Sangrur and Bathinda had thrown up a figure of 2,990 suicides since 2005.

The survey,which was to be extended to all districts in the state,has hit a roadblock.

Sukhdev Singh Kokri,general secretary,Bhartiya Kissan Union (Ugrahan) said: We have always urged farmers not to commit suicide but come together on a platform and fight against the government. Both the previous Congress and SAD government have let us down completely. The Congress never admitted that there were any suicides in Punjab while the present government made false promises and let us down.

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