Nanded, Oct 24 A murder and kidnapping case has been registered against the owner of a private finance firm and two others after a farmer, who had borrowed Rs 10,000, was found hanging inside the company’s office in Nanded on Saturday, police said.
One suspect has been detained, while police are looking for others, they said
The farmer, Chandrakant Shinde (40), a resident of Malkoutha village in Mudkhed tehsil, owned two acres of agricultural land. His family said Shinde had borrowed Rs 10,000 from Khalsa Finance.
The family said representatives of the finance company took him from his village to their office on Wednesday in connection with the loan recovery. He was found hanging inside the office on Chikhaliwadi Road on Saturday afternoon.
Shinde’s mother Sarjabai and daughter Rupali alleged that the company’s employees confined and fatally assaulted him before hanging his body to make his death appear to be a suicide. They said the company had demanded Rs 70,000 against the original loan of Rs 10,000.
The family has called for a thorough probe into the circumstances surrounding Shinde’s death.
“Based on the complaint lodged by the farmer’s relatives, a case of murder and kidnapping has been registered against the finance company owner and two other persons who allegedly brought him to Nanded. One suspect is already in our custody, and teams have been formed to trace the remaining accused,” Superintendent of Police Neelabh Rohan said.
The SP also urged farmers facing harassment by private finance companies to approach the police rather than take any extreme step. He assured them that appropriate action would be taken on their complaints.
Meanwhile, local residents have raised concerns over coercive loan recovery practices, particularly when the government has directed finance companies not to visit drought-hit farmers’ homes to recover loans.
(PTI News)
