Bhawanipatna/Titilagarh: A 47-year-old farmer from Khandra village under Sindhekela police limits in Bolangir district died Wednesday after allegedly consuming pesticide, reportedly due to crop loss and an inability to repay a group loan.
The deceased has been identified as Durga Charan Bhoi. Police said Bhoi’s crops failed this season, and mounting debt had put him under severe mental stress. He allegedly drank pesticide used for killing weeds Wednesday forenoon.
Bhoi was first taken to Sindhekela hospital and later shifted to Titilagarh subdivisional hospital. As his condition worsened, he was then moved to the DHH, where doctors declared him dead. Bhoi’s brother, Bhaskar, lodged a complaint with Bhawanipatna Town police, stating that crop loss and unpaid group debt had driven his elder brother to suicide.