Tractor seized for not repaying loan, TN farmer kills himself

Even as multi-thousand-crore loan defaulter Vijay Mallya remains in an undisclosed foreign location and just as farmers in Tamil Nadu were protesting over the brutal treatment meted out to one of them for defaulting on a loan, another farmer in Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu has killed himself for allegedly not being able to pay back his loan.

TOI reports that 26-year-old Alagar, a native of Orathur village near Ariyalur purchased a tractor with a Rs. 7 lakh loan from a private finance firm. He reportedly paid back Rs. 5 lakh, but was unable to pay the rest. The finance company seized his tractor on Thursday for non-repayment. On Friday, Alagar consumed poison and died in a hospital after failing to respond to treatment.

Ariyalur police has denied that such an incident of suicide was registered in the district, reports TOI.

According to The New Indian Express, Alagar was a high school graduate and had been cultivating paddy, maize, corn and cotton.

Alagar’s death reportedly has sparked tensions in the district with farmers blaming the private firm for pushing him to take the extreme step. TNIE reports that farming community leaders claim that Alagar had threatened the officials that he would consume poison and die if the tractor was seized, and yet it was.

The Delta region of Tamil Nadu is already on the boil with protests over video which showing one farmer from Thanjvur, Balan, being beaten and dragged by the police for not repaying the loan.