MP farmers' protest: Three suicide in past 24 hours; Scindia, Hardik prevented from visiting Mandsaur

Three farmers ended their lives in Madhya Pradesh in the last 24 hours, taking the number of farmer suicides in the state in the past one week to five.

The latest reports of suicides come in the wake of a slew of measures announced by the state government to contain acute agrarian distress and anger after five farmers were killed in police firing at Mandsaur on June 6. Two allegedly debt-ridden farmers committed suicide at Jajna village under Rehti police station area in Sehore district and in Bhairpur village of Hoshangabad district, respectively.

Also, a farmer from Vidisha district died during treatment in Bhopal where he was admitted after consuming poisonous pills yesterday. A debt-ridden 55-year old farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance yesterday at Jajna village in Sehore, the home district of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Dulichand Keer, the farmer, was declared brought dead at the hospital.

Rehti police station in-charge Pankaj Geete said, "The cause behind the death is a matter of investigation, but he had a debt of Rs 6 lakh." Keer's son Sher Singh claimed that his father ended his life due to mounting debt. He had borrowed Rs four lakh from banks and another Rs two lakh from other sources. District collector Sudam Khade, however, said the reason behind the suicide was still not clear.

Kriparam Digodiya (68) allegedly killed himself in Bhairopur village under Shivpur police station in Hoshangabad district. His body was found hanging from a tree at his farm. Family members said that Kriparam was depressed due to worries about loan repayment. He had also sold off parts of his agricultural land. Shivpur police station in-charge Monish Bais said Kriparam was claimed to have been under depression. "We are investigating further," he added. Another farmer, a resident of Jirapur under Shamshabad police station of Vidisha district, ended life yesterday.

Hari Singh Jatav (40) died during treatment in Bhopal after having consumed poison, Shamshabad police station in- charge Sudama Prasad Shukla said. Shamshabad tehsildar Israr Khan said Jatav had some dispute with family members over demarcation of farmland. Earlier, on June 8, a 45-year-old debt-ridden farmer, Kishanlal Meena, allegedly committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance at Sagoniya in Raisen district.

Meena told his kin before dying that he had a debt of Rs 17 lakh, and was worried about his three daughters who were of marriageable age. On the same day (June 8), Bishan Singh Rajput (42), a farmer who also held Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree, hanged himself at Jogadakhedi in Sehore district. Rajput's younger brother said he had incurred heavy losses in farming in the past 3-4 years, and his debt burden had spiralled to Rs 10 lakh. A major farmers' agitation roiled western Madhya Pradesh between June 1 and June 11. On June 6, five persons were killed in police firing at Mandsaur.

Main demands of farmers were loan waiver and remunerative prices for produce.  The Congress' Madhya Pradesh heavyweight Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gujarat's Patel quota stir spearhead Hardik Patel were today turned back by the police before they could enter Mandsaur, the hub of the recent farmers' agitation. Three farmers, meanwhile, were reported to have ended their lives, allegedly due to indebtedness, in the last 24 hours, including one in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's home district Sehore.

As politicians continued to make a beeline for Mandsaur, dramatic scenes unfolded at Nayagaon-Jaora toll booth in Ratlam where Scindia, his party colleague Kantilal Bhuria and a large number of their supporters were detained. They were proceeding to neighbouring Mandsaur where prohibitory orders barring assembly of more than four people are still in force.

Scindia, the suave and sophisticated face of the Congress party, was seen seated atop the anti-riot 'Vajra' vehicle, clenching his fist and chanting slogans like "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan". For some time, a large Congress flag fluttered atop the vehicle, with the lawmaker from Guna Lok Sabha seat frantically waving it.

A convoy of vehicles followed the Vajra van as hundreds of Congress supporters ran to keep pace with the automobiles. "All rules are being torn to shreds. Dictatorship and Nazism (Hitlershahi) prevails in Madhya Pradesh," he told the media amid cries of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' by agitated Congress supporters. When told by a police officer that prohibitory orders were in place in Mandsaur, Scindia said he was prepared to go there alone. "Why are you not allowing me to go there alone?" he angrily asked the officer, before being detained.

Earlier in the day, Hardik Patel was arrested from Nayagaon in Neemuch. The Patidar quota agitation leader, heading to Mandsaur to meet the kin of five farmers killed in police firing on June 6, was accompanied by Janata Dal (U) leader Akhilesh Katiyar, who was also placed under arrest. Patel was arrested to prevent "commission of cognisable offences", City Superintendent of Police Abhishek Diwan said. They were released on bail later and taken out of Madhya Pradesh in police vehicles.

Lashing out at the authorities, Patel said, "I am not a terrorist. I have not come from Lahore. I am an Indian citizen and have the right to go anywhere in the country." Patel, who has been trying to carve out a political space for himself in Gujarat, also criticised the Narendra Modi government and claimed 50 crore farmers have come together against the BJP.

Before Scindia and Patel, several opposition leaders including Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, were denied permission to visit Mandsaur, the epicentre of a violent farmers agitation, where five cultivators were killed in police firing, causing the stir to spill over to some other districts of the state. Political leaders and social activists have continued to make futile attempts to visit Mandsaur despite peace having returned there.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who came under severe attack from the opposition following the agrarian unrest, had called off the indefinite fast on Sunday, 28 hours after its launch, claiming peace had been restored. Though the stir has ebbed away, three farmers have ended their lives in the state in the last 24 hours, taking the number of farmer suicides in the state in the past one week to five. While two allegedly debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in Sehore and Hoshangabad district, another such death was reported from Vidisha.

In a related development, Congress MLA Shakuntala Khatik was booked for allegedly inciting people to set ablaze a police station, amid violent protests by farmers last week. A video, which went viral, purportedly showed Khatik inciting people to set a police station ablaze.

The video was shot on June 8 when Khatik, who represents Karera Assembly segment in Shivpuri district, was holding a protest at Karera Police Station against the killing of farmers in Mandsaur. Karera's Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anurag Sujania said the FIR was registered against Khatik, block Congress president Venus Goyal and others early today. They were booked under the IPC sections pertaining to rioting, unlawful assembly, punishment for obscene acts or words in public and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, he said.