Farmer ends life, wants chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, DK Shivakumar & Ambareesh at funeral

MANDYA: The farm loan waiver scheme announced by the government has done little to stem the wave of suicides among farmers in Mandya district, considered the bastion of the ruling JD(S).
On Monday night, M Rajesh, a farmer from Malagaranahalli village, hanged himself as he had failed to repay his loans. Locals said he had left a suicide note, stating that he wanted chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, major irrigation minister DK Shivakumar, actor-turned-politician Ambareesh and other senior leaders of the district to attend his final rites.
But Maddur police denied there was any such note. “Rajesh had a loan of Rs 1.75 lakh on record and another Rs 3.25 lakh loan which was not on record, taken from local vendors. He committed suicide on Monday night. The body was handed over to his family after postmortem on Tuesday,” said police.
According to locals, Rajesh had five acres of land and was following the multicrop pattern, including growing paddy. “On Monday morning, he was working on his paddy field. He went missing in the evening. Around 10pm, we found his body hanging in the farm. He had left a suicide note saying he wanted CM Kumaraswamy, minister DK Shivakumar, actor Ambareesh and others to attend the final rites,” said locals.