Village officer, assistant suspended for Kerala farmer's suicide in office

KOZHIKODE: Village officer C.A. Sunny and village assistant Sileesh Thomas, who was earlier in charge of Koorachund village office,  were suspended on Thursday after a farmer committed suicide in the village office at Chembanoda near Perambra on Wednesday night. The officials had allegedly refused to accept the land tax in the name of his wife. The farmer, Kavil Purayidathil Thomas alias Joy (57), was found hanging from the grills of the office verandha by the locals.

Earlier, Thomas had given a suicide note to Mr  Sileesh Thomas, but he was ridiculed for it,  according to his relatives. District Collector U.V. Jose told the media that the two were suspended on the instructions of revenue minister E. Chandrasekharan.  Paperworks would be cleared to accept the land tax from the family of Mr Thomas, he said and added that he would recommend to the government to provide a job for the victim’s youngest daughter.  Efforts would be made to write off his loan. He had a debt of over Rs 20 lakh and the attitude of the village office had made him desperate, it is said.

His wife Molly also had faced criticism after  Thomas threatened to commit suicide, they said. The locals refused to move the body from the office for inquest until the collector came and promised to take action against the erring officials. Earlier, there were disputes with the officials over the payment of tax for the land, said the relatives. A year ago, the couple had protested in front of the village office. Power minister M.M. Mani, who visited the place as well as the house of the deceased, said that the incident would affect the image of the government.