-The Hindu
The Meppadi police identified the deceased as Varghese alias Raju, 45, of Pulparambil at Nedumbala Pallikkavala near Meppadi.
The family members found him in a critical condition in his house on Monday night. Though he was rushed to a private hospital, he died.
The police said Varghese may have consuming poison out of disappointment over crop loss. His relatives said Varghese was worried over the huge crop loss in his ginger farm, on a leased land at Belur in Karnataka, and at a plantain farm near his house.
He was finding it difficult to repay the debts after the crop loss and the sharp fall in prices of the produce, they added.
Varghese had taken a loan of Rs.1.25 lakh from the Meppadi branch of the State Bank of Travancore and nearly Rs.2 lakh from his friends and self-help groups for cultivation, they said.
Varghese is survived by his wife Jessy and three children. This was the third such incident reported from the district in a fortnight.