A two-member investigation team set up by Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Rai Mahimapat Ray on Saturday visited Patratu village under Chanho block, where body of a farmer was found in the well he had dug. The team, after investigation, rejected reports of suicide by the farmer and said that his death could have been accidental due to his habit of getting intoxicated regularly.
The body of 40-year-old farmer, Lakhan Mahto, was found in the well on Friday and it was alleged that he committed suicide by jumping into a well, which he had dug under a scheme of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) after failing to get the final installment of Rs.1 lakh, police said on Saturday.
Mahto, who had already received Rs.2 lakh under the scheme for digging the well, was said to be anxious for the remaining sum of Rs.1 lakh, his family members told the police. Mahto left home to pay a visit to his farm field on Friday morning and went missing. Later, villagers found his body in a well nearby his residence and informed the Chanho Police Station.
“We fished out the body on Friday night. It has been sent for postmortem. We did not find any suicide note from the spot,” said In-Charge of Chanho Police Station, Dileshwar Kumar.
Mahto is survived by three sons, his widow and mother. Police said that the family did not seem to be under any major financial crisis, however, further investigation may reveal if Mahto was debt-ridden. “As of now the family does not seem to be under any major financial burden. We are waiting for the autopsy report to ascertain if drowning was the actual cause of the death,” said Kumar.
Officials from the Circle Officer’s Office in Chanho, however, told the police that all the process for disbursement of the remaining amount was almost complete and Mahto would have received the sum within a few days.
Meanwhile, the two-member team constituted to probe the incident found that according to the villagers Lakhan Mahto used to get intoxicated regularly and before “falling” into the well also he was intoxicated. According to the team none of the villagers talked about Mahto committing suicide and being under any kind of debt.
The son of Mahto has lodged an FIR at Chanho Police Station, which says that Lakhan died because of falling into the well and no one is responsible for his death.