Farmer commits suicide in Uttar Pradesh

A 55-year-old farmer committed suicide at Parikshitgarh area here, following which the state Opposition parties threatened to launch a stir over the issue.
The victim, identified as Rakesh Bansal, committed suicide by consuming poison yesterday, police said, quoting Rakesh's brother Ram Kisan Bansal.
According to his brother, Rakesh was under financial burden as he was not being provided any relief owing to his sugarcane crop, Deputy District Officer Arvind Kumar said, adding, he was also depressed over his crop getting damaged in recent untimely rain and hailstorm.
However, Kumar denied that the farmer committed suicide because he was under financial burden and said that there was not much damage to crops in his area due to rain.

He also said that according to information gathered from the villagers, the farmer did not have much loan to pay.
The body has been sent for post-mortem and the reason behind his extreme step will soon be ascertained, the offical said.
Meanwhile Opposition parties, including BJP, Congress, and RLD, threatened to launch an agitation over the incident if the state government fails to provide proper compensation to the families of the farmer and others who have taken such extreme steps earlier.