Farmer's suicide: 'Sell each part of my body to pay the hefty electricity bill', he wrote in suicide note
Correspondent
NewsBits.in
BHOPAL: In a tragic incident, a farmer committed suicide, due to hefty electricity bill which he was unable to pay.
In a suicide note that was recovered, he had written that each part of his body should be sold to pay the hefty Rs 88,000 electricity bill.
The letter is addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and mentions that he was facing harassment by the electricity department staff. Earlier, the bill was in the range of Rs 3,000-4,000 and suddenly he was asked to pay the huge amount. Shell-shocked, he decided to end his life.
This incident has occurred in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh. In the long handwritten note which the farmer, Munendra Rajput, 35, wrote before his death, he mentioned that the power company officials gave him Rs 50,000 bill and an additional penalty was slapped, which led to outstanding dues of Rs 88,000.
As he was unable to pay due to crop failure, the power company staff took away goods from his house including motorcycle and a flour mill. He is survived by three daughters and a son. All his children are minors. The family members alleged that the legal notice arrived and didn't even give time to arrange for money.
The family was dependent on earning from the flour mill which was also seized. Rajput was devastated and hanged himself to death. The district administration has handed over an ex-gratia relief to the deceased's kin and promised an inquiry to look into the circumstances that caused the death.