Madhya Pradesh: Unable To Pay Debts To Release Mortgaged Son, Farmer Commits Suicide

A 42-year-old farmer committed suicide on May 3 for being unable to pay the loan he took from a credit society in Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district, reported India Today.

Sitaram, the brother of the deceased, said that he even kept his son as mortgage or “kamdar” with a camel rearer in Patoda village in the district to borrow Rs 2.5 lakh to settle the debt. Kamdari is a system where needy farmers keep their family members as “security” with wealthy farmers in exchange for money.

“The (credit) society had recently served Karkund a notice asking him to repay the loan along with the accrued interest amounting to Rs 1.5 lakh. However, as he was unable to pay it, he killed himself by consuming a poisonous substance on May 3,” Sitaram claimed. Karkund tore the notice in front of his family and asked them to take care of the issue before consuming poison.

Government blamed

The Madhya Pradesh government assured that action will be taken and ordered a probe into the incident. Police officers are yet to issue a statement. The BJP state government is facing a lot of flak. Congress demanded a payment of Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family and asked for the son’s mortgage to be removed.

“This is a disgrace for the government. And Nandkumar Singh Chouhan’s statement that it is customary to keep a child as mortgage is shameful,” leader of opposition Ajay Singh said. “This shows the mentality of the BJP government. The 42-year-old farmer had taken the loan and mortgaged his son. When the crops failed, he could not release his son and committed suicide. The question that arises is, who are the people getting loans at 0% interest that the government claims it gives?” reported The Times of India.

Congress state president Kamal Nath said incidents like suicides by farmers are taking place on a daily basis, but very few of them are reported.