On Saturday in Raipur district, a 64-year-old Chhattisgarh farmer committed suicide by eating poison. He wrote a suicide note accusing local taxation authorities of unfairness, claiming that his land had been encroached upon.
The incident has been the subject of a magisterial investigation, and the accused Patwari and Tehsildar have been suspended and sent to a punishment posting, respectively.
“The suicide note said his land was encroached upon and it named three people, including a tehsildar. Initial probe has found that he had taken a loan from a moneylender and was being pressured over repayment,” a Kharora police station official said.
The farmer reportedly ingested poison at his house in Morena village on June 12 and was found dead on Monday, according to Raipur Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav. He also stated that the involvement of the tehsildar will be probed.
The farmer’s death, according to district collector Saurabh Kumar, was caused by a land dispute with the village Kotwar, a government messenger stationed in communities.
“In May 2020, the issue was taken to the revenue court. In tehsildar’s court… the farmer was found guilty of encroaching on Kotwar’s land. The tehsildar passed an order for demarcation last year in May itself. However, fifteen days ago, Kotwar again accused the farmer of encroachment. This time, however, no revenue officials were involved,” said the collector.
