A Dalit gram pradhan committed suicide following alleged harassment by some influential persons of his village — Paniyara in Maharajganj district — on Monday.

Sudarshan Prasad (35) was found dead in a field around 7 am. Primary investigation indicated that he had consumed sulphas tablets. A notebook, carrying his suicide note and naming four persons, was recovered from the spot. The postmortem report is awaited.

Maharajganj Superintendent of Police Ram Swaroop said four locals — Yogendra Gaur and his brothers Nagendra and Rajendra and Anjani Singh — have been accused of harassing Prasad. A case has been registered under SC/ST Act and Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and 506 (criminal intimidation) IPC. The men are yet to be arrested.

"Primary investigation revealed that Prasad collected money from many locals, assuring them of favours in government schemes," Swaroop said. "But as he failed to deliver, people had started asking him for their money back."

Unable to cope with the pressure, Prasad ended his life.