AN 84-year-old farmer allegedly attempted to commit suicide at Mantralaya, the state secretariat, Monday evening. He was later rushed to the state-run St George’s Hospital. According to information, Dharma Patil, a resident of Sindekhedraja in Buldhana, had been running from one government office to another, seeking enhanced compensation for his farm land, which was reportedly acquired for a thermal power plant. Patil alleged that he hadn’t been paid as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, and had just been paid Rs 4 lakh in lieu of the land. After several rounds of the collector’s office yielded nothing, Patil reached the Mantralaya Monday evening. But when he could not meet the officials concerned, he allegedly attempted to end his life by consuming poison, which he was carrying with him. The incident has raised questions over the security arrangements at Mantralaya yet again. Last November, an Osmanabad farmer had climbed on to the sixth-floor parapet wall at Mantralaya, threatening to jump off. He was later rescued, and security arrangements on the premises were tightened thereafter. mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com
