Pune: A farmer in Indapur committed suicide, allegedly due to mounting debt, police said on Sunday. The body of Vasant Sopan Pawar (48), who was a director of the Indapur Urban Co-operative Bank, was found near his residence in Belwadi village on Sunday.
In a suicide note found at his residence, Mr. Pawar has blamed senior BJP leader and Pune Guardian Minister Girish Bapat and Minister of State for Water Resources Vijay Shivtare of the Shiv Sena for his death.
According to the police, the note said, “For the past two years, there has been no water from the canal for irrigating my fields. They are running dry and all my crops have died. The Irrigation Department has failed me. Due to the financial stress caused by this adversity, I have decided to take my life. Girish Bapat and Vijay Shivtare are responsible for this.”
The note also sought that the politicians named be booked, and urged former State Minister and senior Congress leader Harshavardhan Patil, who hails from Indapur, to secure justice for his family.
Officers at the Walchandnagar police station, where the case was registered, said Mr. Pawar ran a hardware store in Lasurne village, located around five km. from Belwadi, mostly dealing in agricultural equipment and fertilizer. He also owned agricultural land in Belwadi and Lasurne. A police officer said, “He was in his shop on Saturday, and returned to Belwadi in the evening.” PI Uttam Bhajnawale said his death is being investigated.
