Farmer crushed to death while trying to prevent seizure of tractor by lenders

In a shocking incident, a farmer was crushed to death when he came under the wheels of his tractor while trying to prevent its seizure by representatives of the company, which had financed it, owing to non-payment of the loan.

The incident occurred at Bhaunri village in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district, about 90 km from here, on Saturday.

According to police, around four years ago, the farmer identified as Gyan Chandra, had taken a loan of Rs 5 lakh from a finance company to purchase a tractor.  

Though Chandra had paid around 80 % of the loan, the finance company had warned that the tractor would be seized if the entire amount was not cleared immediately.  

On Saturday, four representatives of the company reached his village to seize the tractor.

The four caught hold of Chandra, who was ploughing his field, snatched the ignition key and tried to drive it away.

A panicky Chandra tried to stop them from driving the tractor away and reportedly stood in front of the same.

Sources said that one of the company employees pushed Chandra away while another reportedly drove the tractor crushing the farmer under its wheels.

The perpetrators managed to flee from the spot with the tractor even though the locals gave them a chase, sources said.

A case was registered against the company and efforts are on to nab the culprits, the police said.