By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 19, 2015 : Odisha agriculture minister, Pradeep Maharathy on Wednesday said 3,602 farmers of Odisha committed suicide in the past 15 years.

But at the same time he claimed that none of the suicides was due to farm-related problems or crop loss.

In a written reply in the state assembly, Maharathy said that according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 3,602 people employed in the farming and agriculture sectors committed suicide between 1999 and 2013.

The dead comprised 3,128 men and 474 women, he said, adding that details of 2014 and 2015 were unavailable on the NCRB website.

“The government investigates the specific cases after receiving farmer suicide complaints. According to the report of the agriculture department, after investigation, it was found that none of the deaths were due to farm-related problems,” he said.