Badaun (Uttar Pradesh): A Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) functionary and local farmer allegedly committed suicide after accusing officials of corruption. In his suicide note, the deceased Harveer, 35, has alleged harassment and levelled corruption charges against the sub divisional magistrate (SDM) and revenue official (kanungo). Harveer belonged to the Dalit community and was a father of five. He had been visiting the Sahaswan tehsil and meeting officials regularly.
Saturday, he went to the tehsil twice before consuming poison on the campus. Later, he returned home and told his family that he had taken sulphas tablets. He was referred to a higher medical facility and died during treatment.
In his suicide note, Harveer alleged that kanungo officer Omkar had demanded Rs 50,000 for an extension of farm plot allotted to him. He said he was ‘abused and threatened’ by SDM Kishore Gupta. He has named both in the suicide note.
Taking cognizance of the incident, Badaun District Magistrate Kumar Prashant has suspended the kanungo. He has handed over the probe to an additional district magistrate (ADM). No action has been taken against the SDM yet.
Harveer was appointed as the BSP’s constituency in-charge in the last Assembly polls. His brother Jaiveer Singh told reporters, “A strip of land was allotted to Harveer for farming in 2006. The allotment was to be renewed after every four years, but the officials were dragging their feet. Harveer had to frequently visit offices for the renewal, and then the SDM and kanungo demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000. We gave a written complaint to the police.”
When contacted, Senior Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma said, “According to the law, FIR in this case cannot be directly registered against the government official. The kanungo has been suspended by the district magistrate. He was found guilty. The ADM is probing the complaint. The family has been promised compensation under a government beneficiary scheme.”
