A 70-year-old farmer died of heart attack while filling his paddy produce in gunny bags at the paddy procurement centre in Abadi Jammikunta village in Jammikunta mandal on Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Bitla Iylaiah of Abadi Jammikunta. The incident triggered widespread protests with the family members of the deceased staging a demonstration in front of the procurement centre.
The grief-stricken relatives of the deceased blamed the alleged delay in procurement of paddy for the death of the farmer. Local BJP cadres joined the protests expressing solidarity with the aggrieved family members of the deceased farmer.
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Tension gripped the procurement centre as the protesters prevented attempts by the officials to shift the body of the deceased to the mortuary seeking action against those allegedly responsible for the incident.
Heartrending scenes were witnessed at the centre when Lakshmi, wife of Iylaiah, cried inconsolably and narrated the ordeal suffered by her husband in disposing of the paddy produce, blaming “inordinate delay” in procurement of paddy for his death.
The protesters relented following an assurance by the Revenue officials to order a detailed inquiry into the incident.
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Meanwhile, in a statement the Additional Collector Shyam Prasad Lal said Iylaiah died of a sudden heart attack while filling paddy in gunny bags at the procurement centre.
Iylaiah brought around 50 bags of paddy to the procurement centre run by the Primary Agricultural Marketing Society at Abadi Jammikunta on December 4. He was issued a token for purchase of paddy on December 6, he said, adding that 40 gunny bags were given to him the same day.
An inquiry conducted by a senior inspector of the office of the District Cooperative Officer on Tuesday afternoon found no fault of the in-charge of the procurement centre or the CEO concerned, he said.