Debt-ridden farmer commits suicide in Nagpur district

A debt-ridden elderly farmer allegedly committed suicide at a village near here in Maharashtra on Tuesday, police said.

Arun Khushal Kanhonkar (65), a resident of Wakodi village under Saoner tehsil of Nagpur district, hanged himself from a ceiling hook with a rope at his residence, they said.

Kanhonkar, who was owner of seven acres of agriculture land, had borrowed a loan of Rs 1.70 lakh from a nationalised bank in Saoner tehsil in 2016-17, the police said.

Due to heavy losses in farming, he was unable to pay installments of the loan, they said.

He had even mortgaged the family's jewellery with a local moneylender to pay loan installments, but his financial woes had not ended, the police said.

The farmer was under depression since a week as he was unable to get back the ornaments from the lender, they said.

He committed suicide in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday when his family members were asleep, the police said.

The Saoner police have registered a case of accidental death and started a probe.