3rd Mandya farmer ends life over debt

MYSURU/MANDYA: Another debt-ridden farmer committed suicide near Mandya on Sunday by jumping into a well in his field. This is the third farmer's suicide in the district in 15 days.
The body of Shivalinge Gowda, 37, was found in the well in Honnanayakanahalli, near Keragodu, Mandya, on Sunday evening. Gowda, cultivating paddy and sugarcane, was under pressure to clear Rs 2.3 lakh loan, his family said.Gowda took the extreme step after he received a bank notice on Saturday, villagers said.
On Thursday last, sugarcane grower Ninge Gowda, 60, had set himself and his standing crop on fire at Ganada Hosuru village in Pandavapura taluk of the district. A week earlier, farmer Rajendra had hanged himself from a tree in Chinnenahalli of Srirangapatna taluk.
Villagers kept Shivalinge Gowda's body on the main road and refused to send it for post-mortem. They demanded that district minister MH Ambareesh come to the spot and announce compensation for the dead farmer's family. Gowda is survived by his wife and two children.
The family members told Mandya police that Gowda had taken Rs 2.3 lakh loan from the State Bank of India (SBI), Mandya branch, a year ago. "The victim's relatives told us that bank officials visited his house and warned him of legal consequences if he failed to repay the loan," a police official said.
Claiming that the bank served a notice on Gowda on Saturday, villagers said he jumped into the well on Sunday morning.
Police are investigating whether there was any other reason for the suicide.
Superintendent of Police Bhushan Gulabrao Borase visited the village and is monitoring the situation.