Anantapur: Facing continuous losses from agriculture and being unable to clear the debts, a farmer killed his wife and two children before killing himself by suicide in Duddekunta village of Simhadri mandal in Kadapa district.
The incident came to light on Saturday morning when the mother of the deceased farmer enquired about the whereabouts of her son and his family.
The deceased were identified as D. Nagendra, his wife Vani , daughter Gayathri,14, and son Bhargav,15. Their bodies were found on the outskirts of Duddekunta village. The two children were studying at a private school in Simhadripuram.
Sources said Nagendra, a smalltime farmer, owned a patch of land the village. Later, he took 8 acres on lease and started a dairy farm. However, he incurred losses after five buffalos went missing from his farm a few months ago. Undaunted, he switched to sheep rearing. But as ill luck would have it, 48 from his sheep flock died.
He wanted to try his hand with millet farming. But the entire crop was washed away in the recent heavy rain. In view of the serial losses, Nagendra incurred huge debt to the tune of Rs 30 lakh while a major portion of it was from private lenders.
The lenders mounted pressure on him to clear the debt. Unable to find ways to meet the pressure, he took the extreme step.
Nagendra discussed the matter with his wife and convinced her about his decision to end his life. She accepted the decision. Both took their children to the agriculture field on Friday night. Nagendra and his wife reportedly killed two children and then killed themselves by suicide.
Nagendra’s mother Saturday morning enquired with co-villagers about the missing of her son’s family. The villagers informed her that all four members were seen going towards the farm. The villagers noticed the bodies on Saturday morning and alerted Simhadripuram police who shifted the bodies to Pulivendula government hospital.
BC welfare minister Savitha expressed shock over the tragic end of the farmer’s family and assured help from the government.
