Farmer dies by suicide after posting video claiming hailstorm crop damage in Ujjain

Ujjain: A 30-year-old farmer died by suicide in Ujjain district on Tuesday night, hours after posting a video on social media claiming crop damage due to hailstorm. An official survey of his farm, however, found no significant damage to his standing wheat crop.The farmer, Pankaj Malviya, was found dead on his farm in Kheda Jamuniya village under Makdaun police station limits on Wednesday morning. He had posted the video about crop destruction on Tuesday afternoon and died by suicide late in the night.
According to Makdaun police station in-charge Pradeep Singh Rajput, Pankaj ate dinner at home on Tuesday night before heading to his farm. "Family members went to the farm in the morning to release cattle and found him hanging from a tree. They informed the police. No suicide note was found at the scene," Rajput said.Police registered a case and conducted a postmortem examination at Makdaun before handing over the body to the family. The last rites were performed at his ancestral village, Kheda Jamuniya. The reason for his suicide remains unknown.According to family members, Pankaj's father had died a few years ago. He owned approximately eight bighas of land and leaves behind a daughter and a son. Two days before his death, he celebrated his sister's engagement, with the wedding scheduled for April. During discussions with his in-laws on Monday, he mentioned crop damage concerns.Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar, who visited the village after learning of the farmer's death, demanded Rs 50 lakh in compensation for the family. "The farmer expressed worries to his in-laws about how he would manage the wedding expenses due to crop damage. The administration is not willing to acknowledge the crop loss," Parmar said.Area tehsildar Naveen Chandra Kumbhakar presented a different picture. "We conducted a survey of the deceased farmer's farm through the patwari. The wheat crop is standing in the field, and no such damage was found. A video of the crop was made, and a panchnama was prepared," Kumbhakar said.He added that 20-22 out of 120 villages in the area suffered damage, but Kheda Jamuniya was not among them. "Rain occurred in the area on Tuesday afternoon, but the farmer already posted the video on social media in the morning. His suicide has nothing to do with this," Kumbhakar stated.Some areas of the district experienced light rain and hailstorms on Tuesday afternoon.