Demanding adequate compensation to the family of a debt-ridden farmer who allegedly committed suicide, irate farmers in Orissa”s Kendrapara district today detained a senior government officer for three hours, police said.
The incident took place at Andara village when Pattamundai tehsildar Pabitra Mohan Pradhan went there to investigate the alleged debt-induced suicidal death, they said.
Locals squatted on the road leading to the village and put the tehsildar under detention for nearly three hours.
"The administration is insensitive towards the plight of farmers, who are facing imminent threat of crop loss following scanty monsoon rain. A farmer from this village ended his life for not able to repay a loan. The officer came here to give only lip service. Not a single pie has reached the bereaved family in form of government help," Baishnav Sahu, a farmer who led the stir, said.
The angry villagers later released the detained official following police intervention.
40-year-old debt-ridden tenant farmer Ratnakar Jena had committed suicide yesterday by consuming insecticide.
Agriculture minister Damodar Rout, however, said the farmer”s suicide had nothing to do with cultivation.
District Collector Dhananjaya Das said the tehsildar was deputed to investigate the circumstances that prompted the farmer to commit suicide.
"We are waiting for the inquiry report before awarding compensation to the bereaved family," he said.