Panna teacher dies after drinking pesticide, family says salary unpaid for four months

Questions are being raised about the functioning of the education department after the death of a government middle school teacher in Jargawan village, under Raipura in the Shahnagar block of Panna district. The teacher, Bharat Vanshkar, was 48. He consumed pesticide on Thursday and died during treatment.

A post-mortem was conducted on Saturday. The body was then handed over to the family and the last rites were performed. The family alleges that he had not been paid for four months and that he took the step because of a shortage of money.

His wife, Kera Bai, said the household has 12 members, including four sons, two daughters-in-law and other dependants. With the salary stopped, the whole family was in financial distress. She said there was no money left even for the children's food and for medicines. According to her, her husband consumed the pesticide while alone at home, under this financial and mental strain.

The deceased's brother-in-law (wife's sister's husband), Sunder Lal Bansal, also questioned the department's functioning. He said the teacher's life could have been saved had the salary been paid on time. He demanded that the government and the administration give a pension to the teacher's wife, and give his dependent children suitable financial assistance and a job, so that the family can get by.

Asked why the salary was held up, the in-charge of the salary disbursement centre at Raipura said the attendance sheet sent from the Kunda middle school, under the Bagraud cluster centre, showed the teacher as absent. For this reason his salary could not be drawn.

The family and villagers, on the other hand, allege that because of the department's negligence and paperwork, teachers do not get their salaries on time. Following the incident, questions are being raised about the department's functioning and the role of the officials responsible.