‘Sell My Organs And Pay Dues,’ MP Farmer’s Note To PM Modi Before Dying Of Suicide

A farmer in Madhya Pradesh dies by suicide allegedly due to harassment by a power distribution company. He also left a note addressed to PM Modi.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: A 35-year-old farmer in Madhya Pradesh died by suicide and left a note addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh. According to media reports, Munendra Rajput took the drastic step allegedly over harassment by a power distribution company after he was unable to pay a hefty electricity bill. He committed suicide at Matguvan village, some 17 km from the district headquarters, In his note, he requested the Prime Minister to hand over his body to the government and sell every part and use the money to repay the pending electricity bill. A PTI report says that Rajput was facing a difficult time as his Kharif crop had failed and to make up the loss, he ran a small flour mill. The deceased's brother Lokendra Rajput said that even though his brother could not run the mill for most of the year due to coronavirus induced lockdown, the power company gave him a yearly average bill instead of reading his electricity meter to work out the actual power consumption. Media reports say that he had a pending bill of Rs 87,000. "My brother had pleaded to the government officials to give him some time to pay his dues, as even after the coronavirus-induced lockdown was lifted, his business had not picked up after sustaining losses," said Lokendra in the report. Just a day before he took the step, the power company had seized his motorcycle and flour mill due to the non-payment of bills. "A case has been registered in connection with the suicide and investigations are underway," said area police inspector Kamaljeet Singh said. The report also says that MLA Rajesh Kumar Shukla has written to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking action against people responsible for the farmer's suicide. He has also sought financial help for the family. A government release also said that Chhattarpur collector Sheelendra Singh has provided a relief of Rs 25,000 to the deceased's kin.