Sugarcane farmer kills self in Meerut

A 50-year-old sugarcane farmer in the district allegedly committed suicide with his kin claiming that he was upset over debts and non-payment of dues by a sugar mill.
According to police, Veerpal committed suicide last evening by hanging himself from a tree in his field in Jhinjhapur village here.
Expressing concern over the second suicide within a week by a farmer in the district, opposition parties have, meanwhile, threatened to stage a protest during Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's visit here on Saturday.
Falavada police station in-charge Abdul Wasim Khan said Veerpal's body has been sent for a post-mortem and that an investigation is on into the matter.

Veerpal's family members have charged that the delayed payment of sugarcane dues had led Veerpal to end his life although Deputy Collector Arvind Kumar, who is investigating the matter, dismissed these claims.
He said that inquiries have shown that a sum of only about Rs 2,500 were pending to Veerpal in sugarcane dues.

Kumar said that Veerpal had taken a hefty loan for his wife's cancer treatment and was under immense pressure to repay the loan even as her death two months back dealt a severe blow to him.
This is the second suicide by a farmer within a week in the district. One Rakesh Bansal allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison on March 27.

Holding the UP government responsible for two farmers' suicides in the area within the span of a week, Rashtriya Lok Dal's western UP in-charge Raj Kumar Sangwan threatened to stage a demonstration here when the UP chief minister visits the district's Lalpur village to inaugurate the Mulayam Singh Yadav Medical College on April 4.