Nanded, Oct 25 A farmer who had allegedly borrowed Rs 10,000 from a private finance company was found hanging inside its office in Maharashtra’s Nanded city, following which police detained three persons, officials said on Sunday.
A case of murder, kidnapping and wrongful confinement was registered at the Vazirabad police station after the body of Chandrakant Shinde (40) was recovered from the office of KF Enterprises on Chikhaliwadi Road on Saturday afternoon.
The family of Shinde, a resident of Malkoutha village in Mudkhed tehsil, has claimed that the finance company allegedly demanded Rs 70,000 from him against a loan of Rs 10,000.
According to a complaint filed by the victim’s wife Jyoti Shinde, two men forcibly took her husband on a two-wheeler from their village on October 22. He was allegedly brought to the finance company’s office in Nanded, where he was confined and assaulted.
Shinde’s mother Sarjabai and daughter Rupali have alleged that the company’s employees hung his body to make the death appear to be a suicide. They have demanded a thorough probe into the circumstances surrounding Shinde’s death.
After registering a case, police launched an investigation and detained three persons, identified as Jaykumar, alias Shera Bhagwan Gaikwad (22), Shaikh Amer Shaikh Saheb Sen (25), and Ishan Khan Shahbaz Khan (40) for their alleged involvement in Shinde’s death, an official said.
Police are also looking for other persons allegedly linked to the case, he said.
Meanwhile, a similar case concerning loan recovery by a company named ‘Khalsa Finance’, which is also based in Nanded, has come to light, another official said.
Datta Kisan Gaikwad (37), a daily-wage labourer from Mudkhed, was allegedly assaulted on October 6 over an unpaid loan of Rs 8,000, an official said. He was first taken to the finance company’s office and thrashed. The staff then allegedly took him to another place and threatened to kill him, the official said.
Following a complaint by Gaikwad on Sunday, a case of kidnapping and assault was registered at Mudkhed police station against four persons, the official said, adding that a probe was underway.
Nanded Superintendent of Police Neelabh Rohan has urged farmers facing harassment by private finance companies to approach the police. He assured them that the police would take appropriate action on their complaints.
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)
