Hyderabad: A farmer who had approached the Gajwel Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) over a land issue was allegedly mocked by the officer, who asked him why he hadn’t consumed pesticide yet.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, drawing criticism from the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) as well.
The officer, however, has clarified that the video is old and the interaction took place after the farmer kept visiting his office, demanding compensation for land that was stuck in a family dispute.
In the video, the farmer is seen asking the MRO if he finds his plight funny, to which the officer replies, “Yes, absolutely.”
BRS working president KT Rama Rao reacted to the video, calling it “shameful and absolutely unacceptable”.
“Is this how we treat the very farmers who feed us? You have to be mentally sick to treat another fellow human the way this officer did. Shameful and absolutely unacceptable. I demand that @TelanganaCS take action against this MRO,” he stated in a post on X.
MRO clarifies
The MRO, PH Swamy, spoke to Times of India and gave his version of the events.
Swamy said that the farmer, Yesu, from Maktha Masanpally village, has been demanding compensation for agricultural land being acquired for the Regional Ring Road (RRR) project.
The MRO said that the land could not be acquired, as it was involved in a family dispute. Swamy said he had repeatedly explained to the farmer that the compensation could only be released after the family resolved the dispute.
However, Yesu kept threatening to drink pesticide if the money was not credited.
Yesu had even gone to the MRO in a drunken state one time and created a ruckus. A complaint was lodged with the police; however, the farmer was let go of with a warning, and no case was registered, Swamy told TOI.
Swamy said that the family eventually solved the dispute and the money has been credited to their accounts. However, no inquiry has been ordered into Swamy’s conduct.
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