Kamal Nath orders inquiry into inflated power bill driving farmer to consume poison

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Sunday ordered for a probe into the issuance of an inflated power bill to a farmer who allegedly in protest consumed poison in the office of Central Zone Power Distribution Company in Bhopal on Saturday, officials said.

Updated on: Mar 24, 2019, 18:32:35 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Shruti Tomar

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Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Sunday ordered for a probe into the issuance of an inflated power bill to a farmer who allegedly in protest consumed poison in the office of Central Zone Power Distribution Company in Bhopal on Saturday, officials said.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath (PTI file photo)

The condition of farmer Awadh Narayan Sisodia, 48, a resident of Behta village of Bhopal district is stated to be critical, according to police.

Chief minister Nath asked the district collector, Bhopal to probe into the matter so that action is taken against if they are found guilty.

The CM also asked the power department’s principal secretary to direct the company’s officers across the state to act swiftly on the farmers’ complaints related to inflated bills.

In a note, Sisodia blamed the officers and employees of the power distribution company for the inflated bill and his taking the extreme step, said police.

Police inspector Ajay Mishra said, “Sisodia in his two-page suicide note addressed to chief minister Kamla Nath shared his ordeal. Sisodia said he had installed a motor of five horsepower on his agricultural land two years back. He is paying ₹2,000 per month. In January, he received an inflated bill of ₹1.2 lakh.”

“Sisodia said he had been requesting officers concerned to rectify the mistake and release a revised bill for the past two months but no one heard his plea. According to Sisodia, the company snapped his power connection a few days back whereupon Sisodia came to the power distribution company’s office on Saturday for the same but didn’t receive any response, he consumed poison,” said Mishra.

Refuting the allegation that an inflated bill was issued the power distribution company’s assistant engineer Anil Verma said, “The connection was snapped as the bill of ₹65,000 was pending in the farmer’s name. We asked him to pay the bill in installments and that the power connection would be resumed after his paying first installment but he didn’t agree.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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