Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked the State police department to give priority to cases of farmer suicides. Setting a month-long deadline to solve all cases concerning farmer suicides at a meeting held last week, Mr. Fadnavis declared that these cases will only be handled by officers of the rank of Senior Police Inspector and above.
The directives, senior officers said, were issued during a meeting between senior police officers and Mr. Fadnavis on September 16 at Mantralaya. The meeting was also attended by members of the Vasantrao Naik Agriculture Mission, a committee set up to look into issues of farming and agriculture. The committee had earlier pointed out lacunae in the compensation distribution network and investigation mechanisms on ground when dealing with cases of farm suicides.
“The chief minister has issued three major directives regarding farm suicides to the police department related to compensation, investigation and hierarchy,” a senior Home Department officer said.
