Farmer guarding garlic crop found murdered in Ujjain

The villagers told police that garlic crop has not been stolen from the field, but it could be a reason behind the rivalry

A farmer, who was guarding the garlic crop at his farm during the night, was found murdered on a cot in the field in Baloda Lakkha village of Badnagar in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district on Tuesday morning, said police. The deceased, identified as Kishan Singh Chavda, 50, was a local leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The farmers are hoping that the price of garlic will increase further and they guard their crop. (Representative Image)

“He (Chavda) used to sleep on a farm, which is one km away from his home, to guard the garlic crop. He did not return home in the morning. The family members went to the farm and saw that he was lying on the cot and had blood stains in the upper parts of his body. The injury marks of attack with a sharp-edged weapon were found on the farmer’s head,” said the Ujjain superintendent of police (SP), Pradeep Sharma.

Police are investigating the matter to find out the motive behind the murder, said the SP.

The villagers told police that garlic crop has not been stolen from the field, but it could be a reason behind the rivalry.

“In the past two months, the price of garlic reached ₹40,000 per quintal. For a long time, it had been sold for ₹25,000 per quintal. The production of garlic reduced especially at Mandsaur and Neemuch due to poor rainfall. In coming days, the price will increase a lot and that’s why farmers are guarding the crop to save it,” said Paramjeet Singh, an agricultural expert and farmers leader.

Commenting on the incident, Congress state president Jitu Patwari said, “Chief minister Dr. Mohan Yadav ji, you are the home minister of the state as well. Ujjain is your home district. Most of the anarchy is happening in Ujjain district only, why?”

Responding to it, BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said, “Jitu Patwari should be concerned about Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh (Congress-ruled states). The murder of the farmer is an unfortunate incident, but police are doing their job, and the accused will be nabbed soon.”