A Dalit farmer ended his life after authorities reportedly tried to take away his land at Veluru village in Wargal mandal under Gajwel constituency, represented by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, in Siddipet district on Thursday.
Terming the incident as politically instigated, Finance Minister T. Harish Rao announced an immediate assistance of ₹ 2 lakh and an acre of land to the family of the deceased. He has also assured to get the child of the deceased farmer educated at government expense.
According to sources, Dalit farmer Byagari Narasimhulu had 13 guntas of assigned land and the district authorities proposed to resume it for the construction rythu vedika. Worried by the move of the authorities, the young farmer consumed a poisonous substance on his farm on Wednesday and he was immediately shifted to government hospital at Gajwel for treatment where he breathed last in the early morning of Thursday. Tension prevailed in the village due to his death and family members held a dharna before the residence of sarpanch T. Papi Reddy holding him responsible for the death of Narasimhulu.
A huge police force was mobilised as a precautionary measure.
The officials said that the land had been resumed in 2014 as the father of the farmer had sold the inherited assigned land to another person, in violation of assignment regulations, and that the farmer had not been cultivating the land for the past several years.
The body was shifted to government hospital for post mortem and a few Congress leaders reached the hospital. The death assumed political colours with leaders of the opposition parties terming it a ‘murder’ by the ruling party while the TRS called it politically instigated.
Responding to the incident, the Finance Minister termed it most unfortunate and politically instigated. “It is not a fact that the government had forcibly resumed the land from Narasimhulu. It was resumed during the Congress regime for construction of a power station. We will order an inquiry and punish those responsible for his death,” Mr. Harish Rao said while speaking to reporters at Gajwel on Thursday.
