Farmer attempts suicide in front of Mantralaya

An 84-year-old farmer from Sindhkhed attempted to commit suicide in front of Mantralaya — the state secretariat on Monday evening by consuming poison. He was upset about getting insufficient compensation from the state government in return of surrendering his land for an upcoming thermal project in the region.

The victim has been identified as Dharma Patil and belongs to Buldhana district in the state.

According to the police, Patil's 5-acre land had been acquired for the thermal power project. He was offered Rs 4 lakh in return for the land, which he claims is way less. He claimed that he was eligible for getting five times more the price given to him.

Meanwhile, the police said that Patil was not happy with the amount given in return for the land. He has been requesting district level officers since the past three months to give the appropriate amount. However, as he was not getting any positive response from the offices, Patil on Monday came to Mantralaya and consumed poison. The police said, seeing Patil's state, they immediately rushed him to St. George hospital.

"Before consuming the poison, which he had brought with him, he had attempted to meet the officers in the secretariat. However, when the meetings proved futile, he consumed poison." said a police source.