Farmer dies by suicide after failing to repay Rs 1.5 lakh loan in Karnataka's Belagavi
Belagavi (Karnataka), May 21: A 55-year-old farmer died by suicide after allegedly being harassed by a woman moneylender over repayment of Rs 1.50 lakh loan amount taken from her, police said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred in Islampura village of Hukkeri taluk in Belagavi district, they said.
According to police, the farmer - Raju Khotagi- allegedly consumed poison on Sunday and was rushed to a hospital where he was admitted. Unfortunately, he died a day later.
Preliminary enquiry has suggested that the farmer had taken Rs 1.50 lakh loan from 60-year-old Siddavva Bayyanavara of the same village some six months ago after he allegedly suffered losses owing to severe drought. On May 18, the woman had summoned Raju and his family to her house. She asked them to pay back the loan amount immediately, a senior police officer said.
Apparently, the accused woman had taken the loan money from someone else and was allegedly putting pressure on Raju to return the amount. The farmer, however, sought some more time to repay the amount. He tried to arrange the money but when he failed to do so, he was allegedly insulted by the lender, he said.
On Sunday morning, Raju attempted to end his life by consuming poison in his house. However, he was rushed to a local hospital immediately where he was treated. He died on Monday afternoon, the officer said.
The deceased's wife alleged that she and her son were allegedly "confined" in the accused woman's house, police said, adding these are only allegations and need to be verified.
"Based on the complaint by victim's family, we have registered a case under sections of Prevention of Atrocities Act and 306 (Abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code against the accused woman at Yamakanmardi police station. We are verifying the allegations and have taken up the case. Further investigation is underway," a senior police officer said.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
