Maharashtra: Farmer kills self over alleged refusal by co-op society to return FD

Apparently frustrated over a cooperative society's refusal to return his fixed deposit, a 46-year-old farmer hanged himself with a rope in front of its office in Beed district on Wednesday, police said.

Gevrai Police registered an abetment of suicide case against the former chairman of Chhatrapati Multistate Co-operative Society Santosh Bhandari, after the farmer was found hanging from an iron angle outside the society’s branch office in the early hours. No arrest has been made, an official told PTI.

The deceased, Suresh Jadhav, had invested Rs 11.50 lakh in a fixed deposit with the multi-state cooperative society in 2020. According to his family, Jadhav had been pleading for the return of his money for the last two years to fund the education of his two children, but the society had failed to return the full amount.

"Six months ago, he went to the society’s branch office with a bottle of poison and threatened to end his life if the money was not returned,” states the FIR filed by his wife.

Following this, the then chairman returned Rs 2.5 lakh and assured the remaining amount would be paid within two months. However, no further payment was made.

On Tuesday, Jadhav visited the Gevrai branch of the society with his wife and two children. According to the FIR, the branch manager behaved rudely and expelled the family from the office without returning the money. A police official said further investigation into the suicide case is underway.

In a separate incident, an 83-year-old farmer attempted suicide by consuming poison at the CIDCO headquarters in Navi Mumbai, alleging harassment by the city planning authority’s anti-encroachment department.

The farmer, identified as Dattu Bhiwa Thakur, was stopped by CIDCO officials and rushed to MGM Hospital in Belapur, where his condition is now stable.

Family members of Thakur alleged that CIDCO had acquired the family-owned land in Dhutum village in Uran taluka for a project but failed to pay compensation.

A parking lot facility started by Thakur on the land was recently removed by the anti-encroachment department, they claimed. CIDCO PRO Priya Ratambe said Thakur had not submitted the required documents despite several requests.

"He was eligible for a plot under the 12.5 per cent rehabilitation scheme. He was allotted the plot through a special draw on 8 November 2023, and a letter of intent was issued. However, he has not submitted the required documents despite repeated requests," the PRO said. She clarified that Thakur was evicted due to unauthorised construction.