Death of former village revenue assistant falsely shared as case of farmer suicide in Andhra

(Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised.)

Context

On July 19, a Twitter user, Dr Sandeep Panchakarla, shared an image of a man who killed himself, claiming a farmer died by suicide in a government office. A portrait of Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief minister of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, loomed large in the room where the man was found dead. Panchakarla, who, according to his Twitter bio, is incharge of the Bheemili constituency for the Jana Sena Party (founded by Telugu actor and politician Pawan Kalyan), shared the photo with a caption in Telugu, which translated to English, read: “This is the proof to Jagan’s anarchic rule (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy). A farmer has become a sacrifice for the anarchic rule of YCP leaders. A farmer, Govindappa, died by (suicide) in a government office.” 

Panchakarla’s tweet targeting the Andhra Pradesh government had garnered over 2,150 retweets at the time of publishing and has over 4,440 likes. Several users had criticized the Jagan-led government for being apathetic towards the farming community. 

However, the man who died by suicide was not a farmer.

In Fact

According to the local Telugu newspaper Disha Daily, a 72-year-old man allegedly died by suicide on July 14 at a Mandal Revenue Office (MRO) in Gudapalli in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. 

The Gudupalli police confirmed to Logically Facts that the photo being circulated online is that of the 72-year-old man. Inspector Lakshmi Kanth, who is investigating the case, told us, “The person who allegedly died by suicide has been identified. He once worked as a village revenue assistant (VRA). He was estranged from his wife and biological family. He died by suicide at an MRO office in Gudupalli mandal. The exact reason behind his action is unknown, and we have registered a case of suicide in the matter.”

Logically Facts also contacted the adopted son of the deceased man who clarified that theirs was not family engaged in farming and they did not own any land. He confirmed that it was his father whose picture was being circulated online. “There are rumors that my father was a farmer, but he was a VRA; we are in no way related to farming,” he said. He added, “Around five years ago, my adoptive father started suffering from ill health, and after requesting authorities and showing them his health certificate, I have been doing his job as a village revenue assistant for the Thalliagraharam village.”

Logically Facts also accessed the police complaint filed by the son and the First Information Report (FIR) lodged at the Gudupalli police station. The FIR and the complaint do not mention that the deceased was a farmer.

The Verdict

The person found dead at the Gudupalli MRO office is a former village revenue assistant, not a farmer. His photo is being shared as that of a farmer who died by suicide to target the ruling government in Andhra Pradesh. Hence, we rate this claim false.

If you need support, please reach out to the round-the-clock tele-mental health helpline 14416 in India.