Kannur (Kerala) | A 62-year-old award-winning farmer allegedly died by suicide due to mounting financial debt at Cherupuzha in this district, police said.

The deceased was identified as Ambattu Elias, a native of Idavaram in Cherupuzha.

According to family sources, he allegedly consumed pesticide and was found in a critical condition at his farm three days ago.

Elias had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the district, where he later succumbed.

Financial liabilities to the tune of several lakhs of rupees are suspected to have driven him to take the extreme step.

Elias had been cultivating vegetables on a leased land for nearly four decades in the hilly regions of Kannur and neighbouring Kasaragod district.

He had planted around 2,500 banana saplings this season also, but his income did not match the yield, leaving him in distress, sources added.