A 26-year-old farmer, Ghanshyam Dhakad, died on Friday after he was reportedly beaten up by police in violence-hit Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh.
He is the sixth person to die in the Malwa region of the State which is in the grip of violence after five farmers were killed in police firing on June 6.
Sources at the Indore hospital, where he was rushed late on Thursday night, said he was brought dead and that his body bore signs of assault and there were injuries.
According to local villagers, Mr. Dhakad was on his way to a temple on Thursday evening when some policemen stopped him and thrashed him with sticks and baton.
As soon as news of his death became public, Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh and Collector O.P. Srivastava reached the spot and talked to villagers to ensure that peace was maintained. Collector Srivastav said the cause of his death was being investigated.
Besides officials, former Congress MP Sajjan Singh Verma reached the hospital and demanded a probe, alleging that the young farmer was beaten to death.
Meanwhile, the farmers’ agitation spread to Bhopal on Friday, with a few incidents of arson and stone-pelting in Fanda area.
