Farmer dies by suicide in Kerala's Attappadi; distress over not receiving land document alleged

Palakkad (Kerala), Jan 17 (PTI) A farmer died by suicide in Attappadi in this north Kerala district on Saturday, allegedly due to mental distress over not receiving "thandaper", the ownership document for his land, police said on Saturday.

Gopalakrishnan, a native of Punchakode in Mannarkad here, allegedly consumed poison in the early hours after informing some close relatives that he was ending his life, they said.

Quoting his relatives, police said the deceased farmer was under severe mental stress as he had not received the "thandaper" for his land, which prevented him from selling the property to raise money for his medical treatment.

Despite repeated efforts, he hadn't received the ownership document for his nine-acre land in Puliyara here, they said.

A case was registered on the incident, and further investigation is underway, they added.

In October, another farmer, Krishnaswamy, a native of Kavundikkal in Attappadi, had also ended his life by hanging from a tree on his farmland, allegedly for not getting "thandaper" for his agricultural land.

The Congress and BJP workers had staged protests in front of the mini civil station at Agali here over his death, alleging that procedural lapses and delays by revenue officials in providing the document had forced the farmer to take the extreme step. PTI LGK ADB