Farmer duped of Rs 4 cr in land fraud commits suicide, Uttarakhand CM orders inquiry

Haldwani, Jan 11 (PTI) A farmer allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself on Sunday after being duped of Rs 4 crore in a fake land deal in Uttarakhand's Kathgodam area, police said.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep condolences to the deceased farmer's family and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.

According to the police, before taking the extreme step, the farmer also posted a video on the internet, narrating his ordeal and naming the accused who defrauded him.

The deceased, Sukhwant Singh, 40, a resident of Kashipur's Paiga village, was under severe mental stress for a long time due to being cheated of Rs 4 crore in a land deal, police said.

According to the police, Singh had come to Nainital with his wife, Pradeep Kaur, 40 and son Gursahaj Singh, 14, for a trip and on his way back, he took a room in a hotel in the Kathgodam area, where he allegedly committed suicide.

During questioning, Pradeep Kaur told police that she woke up around 3 am after suddenly feeling a blow to her head and found her husband very agitated, at which point she screamed.

She said that in the meantime, she woke up her son and ran out of the room to the hotel reception to seek help.

Kaur said that as soon as they left the room, Singh locked the door from the inside, and then they heard a gunshot.

Police said that the hotel manager called the police, after which the police broke down the door and took Singh, who was lying in a pool of blood, to Dr Sushila Tiwari Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Police said the deceased's wife and son, who were in shock from the incident, were also taken to the hospital, where Kaur's injuries were also treated.

Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manjunath TC said that police have taken the body into custody and a post-mortem has been conducted.

The forensic evidence is also being collected from the crime scene, he added.

The SSP said that before committing suicide, the farmer had also posted a video on social media, narrating his ordeal.

In the video that surfaced on the internet, Singh has accused some people of defrauding him of approximately Rs 4 crore in the name of a land deal.

He added that some people had shown him seven acres of land in Baksaura village, but the registration was done for a different plot.

He alleged that in this deal, he gave three crore rupees in cash and one crore rupees through a bank account.

Singh has also named the people who allegedly defrauded him through the deal.

In the video, Singh also claimed that he had complained to the Senior Superintendent of Police of Udham Singh Nagar and other police officers in this regard, but no action was taken.

Meanwhile, in Dehradun, the Congress party termed the farmer's suicide as a direct result of the misgovernance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and the failure of the police administration.

Senior Congress leader Amarjeet Singh said in a statement, "The farmer was defrauded of crores of rupees in the name of land, but despite the complaint, the police took no action. The apathy of the system has claimed the life of a farmer." Amarjeet Singh said that the Congress demands a fair high-level inquiry into this incident and immediate action against the officials responsible.

Upon receiving information about the incident, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami sought detailed information from the Chief Secretary of the state, Anand Vardhan, and Director General of Police Deepam Seth, and ordered a magisterial inquiry.

Dhami directed Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat to conduct a magisterial inquiry, and said that a "fair and transparent investigation" should be ensured, and strict action can be taken against the concerned person for any negligence.

Expressing his condolences to the farmer's family, Dhami assured them that the government stands with them during this difficult time.

He instructed the administration to provide all possible assistance to the affected family. PTI DPT SHS