Four members of a family allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison at their farmland at Sunka Thonnuru village, Pandavapura taluk, of the district.
The deceased have been identified as S.K. Nandeesh, 40, his wife Komala, 32, and their children S.N. Chandana, 13, and S.N. Manoj, 11. The children were higher primary students at a local school, said the Melkote police.
According to the police, a suicide note was recovered from their possession, in which they held agriculture crisis responsible for taking the extreme step.
In the note, the deceased mentioned about their financial constraints and also said that they had brought the issue [of their indebtedness] to the notice of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy during the Janata Darshan.
Nandeesh’s relatives told The Hindu that the family had taken nearly ₹10 lakh loan from women self-help groups, banks and private moneylenders for cultivation, drilling a borewell and personal needs.
The family had around 2 acres of land and had been cultivating vegetables. The loss owing to poor procurement price, increasing production cost, and poor financial plans were said to be the reasons for the suicide, said the police.
The Chief Minister’s office had sought details from the officials concerned about Nandeesh’s family and their financial constraints. However, before the officials could get the details, the family ended their lives, the police said.
‘Loan waiver farce’
In a statement, Opposition leader B.S. Yeddyurappa said the incident showed that the recently announced farm loan waiver scheme of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition was a “farce”.
Mocking the Chief Minister, he said while farmers were dying, Mr. Kumaraswamy was roaming around the State visiting temples and attacking the BJP to suppress his failures.
( Those in distress or those having suicidal tendencies can call Arogya Sahayavani on 104 for help ).
