At this office, you can even get the nod to die!

Shyam Sundar Vattam |NT

Life is a gift and who would like anyone to die? A Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) in Koppal, maybe unknowingly, gave permission to a gullible farmer to end his life and is now in the dock and facing an inquiry for his act!

The incident occurred at Kukanur taluk in Koppal. The PDO, Veeresh had given permission to Manjunath, the farmer to construct a pond in his field under MGNREGS but allegedly demanded Rs 15,000 to sanction the bill for construction of the pond which the farmer refused to pay. The bill remained uncleared.

The farmer managed to build the pond pledging his wife’s jewels and then again approached the PDO who termed the pond illegal and allegedly refused to clear the bill without a ‘cut’.

Upset over the delay in clearing the bill, the farmer decided to end his life and submitted an application seeking permission for it. Instead of convincing the farmer not to take the extreme step, the PDO affixed his signature saying ‘permitted’ and even reportedly issued an acknowledgement for the ‘euthanasia application!’

The PDO now claims the farmer got the acknowledgement from the office staff by threatening them. The Koppal Zilla Panchayat will have to prove who’s lying-the farmer or the PDO?