Adding a new dimension to the severe agrarian crisis and deep-rooted social issues, a young girl from Latur district of Maharashtra committed suicide by jumping into a well as she did not want to burden the family and her father with additional debts.
The victim, Shital Vyankat Vayal, a resident of Bhise-Wagholi village of Marathwada, who had completed her SSC three years ago, left a suicide note in which she had highlighted the agrarian crisis and dowry culture before she jumped into a well on Friday.
The note states: “I am ending my life to ease my father’s financial burden and eliminate the practice of dowry in my Maratha-Kunbi community..... since the past five years, due to crop failures, our family’s financial condition has become extremely delicate. Yet my two sisters were married off.”
Shital states that her father has been making continuous efforts for her marriage. “Since no loans are available from moneylenders or banks, my marriage has been postponed for over two years. So, to ease the burden on my father, and to end the practice of dowry in the Maratha community, I am ending my life. Me and my family should not be accused in any manner,” the letter states.
Shital ended her life on Friday, the day when Latur girl Shraddha Mengshete bagged the Rs 1-crore mega draw for Lucky Grahak Yojana from the prime minister in Nagpur.
Published 15 April 2017, 20:12 IST