MP Farmer, Wife Drink Pesticides After Police Destroy Their Crops

When police bulldozed their crop, Ramkumar tried to stop them but he was beaten mercilessly in front of his screaming children.

Guna| A Dalit farmer and his wife drank pesticide in an attempt of Suicide after cops and revenue officials destroyed their crops. Images of the incident went viral on social media which showed the children of the couple holding on to the father who fell numb on the ground and crying inconsolably. The picture showed their mother lying on the ground a few meters away. Both of them were taken to a nearby hospital and are stable.

As per the officials, the land in Guna was reserved for construction of Model College. The 5.5 acre land was encroached upon by farmer Ramkumar Ahirwar and his wife Savitri devi. There had been previous attempt to clear the encroachment which remained unsuccessful.

The situation of Dalits in India.

A Dalit family in Guna tried to commit suicide in front of the police administration. Raju and Savitri requested the police not to run JCB on their crops. After police refuse to stop they drink the pesticides. Their children are seen crying, pic.twitter.com/YL8YzYMyzZ

— Harsh (@_ambedkarite) July 15, 2020

The farmer couple however says they have been farming on the land for years now. When police bulldozed their crop, Ramkumar tried to stop them but he was beaten mercilessly in front of his screaming children. The video of the incident that has surfaced on the internet shows policemen raining blows and beating Ram Kumar with lathis. His wife tries to defend but she is also pushed.

Savitri Devi, who is now recovering in hospital said that the couple had taken a loan of 2 lakh rupees for farming. She asked, “Who will pay our debt? Will govt pay it? If our crop has been destroyed what can we do except killing ourselves?”

The Guna SP and Collector have been removed, and inquiry has been sought into the incident. I am confident that action will be taken against all those who are responsible for this heinous act. https://t.co/3D05PIuVkC

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 16, 2020

ये शिवराज सरकार प्रदेश को कहाँ ले जा रही है ?
ये कैसा जंगल राज है ?
गुना में कैंट थाना क्षेत्र में एक दलित किसान दंपत्ति पर बड़ी संख्या में पुलिसकर्मियों द्वारा इस तरह बर्बरता पूर्ण लाठीचार्ज।
1/3 pic.twitter.com/lRgOFaWHPp

— Office Of Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) July 15, 2020

The incident led to widespread outrage against Madhya Pradesh BJP Govt. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan who already is called anti-farmers after the Mandsaur killing of farmers was slammed after the incident. Opposition leaders slammed the Shivraj Singh govt over the incident. Former CM of the state Kamal Nath said that the incident is example of police brutality and that the state is experiencing a “jungle raj”.

Meanwhile, the govt which has found itself cornered has suspended the SP and collector who ordered the encroachment clearance drive.