Debt ridden farmer ends life in Thrissur

Thrissur: An 86-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance after he was served a revenue recovery notice from a public sector bank over non-payment of loan dues.

The farmer, Ouseph, who was engaged in banana cultivation since the past 65 years, had in 2017 taken a loan of Rs 75,000 from Bank of India and around Rs 50,000 from Kerala Gramin bank, his relatives said here.

The floods in the state had caused immense loss to the farmer and there had been no help from the state government either, Jobi, his son, told media.

Ouseph had met the bank officials and sought more time to repay the loan, which was not acceptable to the bank officials, following which he took the extreme step on Monday, relatives said.