Agri Minister’s statement on Bagarti’s suicide false, says wife Kalabati

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bargarh, Mar 5:

Reacting strongly to Odisha Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy’s statement on suicide of Bargarh farmer Hadu Bagarti, wife Kalabati termed it false.

“How can the minister say that Bagarti ended his life due to family feud, not due to crop loss or debt burden”, asked Bagarti’s widow.

“There had been no spat between us, the minister’s statement is completely false as no official has ever visited our home for inquiry”, she said.

“We suffered crop loss due to shortage of water that led to frustration”, she told media.

Yesterday, the minister had termed Bagarti’s suicide was due to family dispute. He told the House that Bargarh farmer could have taken the extreme step due to his internal problems in the family and not due to crop loss or loan burden as alleged by the Opposition.

“Hadu Bagarti had a quarrel with his wife over sprinkling pesticide in the field following which he consumed pesticide. He was admitted to VIMSAR where he died on February 26. So the death, based on Collector’s report, was due to consumption of pesticide,” Maharathy told media.