Poverty hit Dalit couple want to be killed

Lucknow, Feb 20 (IANS) A 50-year-old Dalit man has urged the Uttar Pradesh authorities to kill him and his bedridden wife, saying they are not able to cope with poverty, officials said Friday.
Ram Lakhan, a resident of Paura village in Chandauli district, about 270 km from here, has made the bizarre request to local officials.

'Lakhan has stated that he and his wife, who is bedridden for two years, should be killed by the authorities,' sub-divisional magistrate Satyendra Nath Shukla told IANS on telephone from Chandauli.
Lakhan said he has exhausted all his resources getting his 44-year-old wife Shyama Devi medically treated since she fractured her spine two years ago in an accident.
Now, the couple, abandoned by their four sons, struggle to feed themselves and are begging for death, Shukla said.
The district authorities have decided to approach Chief Minister Mayawati for help.
'We will write to Mayawati to request for funds from the chief minister's relief fund. We will ask for Rs.80,000,' said Shukla.