Moga, Punjab: A debt-ridden septuagenarian farmer allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a goods train near railway station at Moga late last night. His body was recovered by the railway police this morning.
Jagjit Singh, son of the deceased farmer identified as Saggar Singh, resident of Raunta village of Nihal Singh Wala subdivision, in a statement recorded before the railway police, alleged that his father had committed suicide after an arhtiya Jagat Singh tried to take possession of their agricultural land last morning.
The upset old man left the house this morning, went to Moga, 40-km from his village, and committed suicide by jumping before a goods train, the son said. The body was later taken to the district hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Jagjit further said his father had taken a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh from the arhtiya a few years back by signing on blank “pronote” paper.
The arhtiya compounded the interest at a heavy rate, making the total to Rs 7 lakh, which his father could not repay, he said.
Adding that his father had repaid some of the total amount but he did not know the exact figures, the son added in his statement.
Reacting to his statement, head constable Karamjit Singh, in charge of the railway police post, conducted a preliminary inquiry into it and recommended the registration of a criminal case against the arhtiya to the railway police station at Faridkot.
Later, in the evening, the railway police had registered a criminal case under Sections 306, 148 and 59 of the IPC at Faridkot against the arhtiya on charges of forcing the old farmer to suicide.
However, no arrest has been made when the news report was filed.
Every year before the harvest, small farmers of Punjab, who make up nearly 85 per cent of the state’s farming community, borrow money at exorbitant interest rates to meet the production costs and family needs. During the time of harvest, these money lenders exert pressure on the debt-ridden farmers to either sell their produce to them or pay back the money with interest.
The basic reason of this problem is the lack of access to credit, a facility practically denied by banks to farmers having no or less property.
Therefore, farmers had to approach rural money lenders who charge exorbitant rates of interest ranging from 2.5 per cent to even 5 per cent per month.
The situation has become so worse in the remote areas of Punjab that about 15 per cent of marginal and small farmers had left farming over the past few years.
Jagjit said his father was not educated, so he could not calculate the amount of loan and once it reached Rs 7 lakh, he was publicly threatened by the money lender, forcing him to commit suicide.
With thanks : source : SikhSangat
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