Debt-ridden Maharashtra farmer kills self

A debt-ridden farmer from a village in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region climbed on a lit pyre and committed suicide Wednesday, an activist said here Thursday.

Anandrao S. Pandagle, 45, left behind his wife and three teenaged daughters, said Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti chief Kishore Tiwari.

Preliminary police investigations revealed he had farm debts of Rs.50,000 and was trying to collect another Rs.12,000 for his eldest daughter's marriage.