Two Accused Loansharks Still At Large
Rajkot: Three of five accused persons have been arrested after a garlic-processing unit owner and his wife were found dead in the Atika industrial area early on Sunday, after allegedly facing months of harassment, threats and steep interest demands.Bhaktinagar police arrested Gogan Bandhiya (42), Kafrunnisha Bukhari (36) and Nizam Dhusa. Two others, identified as Ajaysinh and an unidentified person, have also been booked for abetment of suicide, extortion and criminal intimidation along with provisions of the Gujarat Money-Lenders Act.Ramesh (40) and Bharti Chavda (40) had run their garlic processing business for nearly 12 years.According to the complaint filed by Ramesh’s father, Mavji Chavda, the couple got trapped in debt despite repaying several times more than the sums they had borrowed. Investigators said the accused kept demanding money even after the principal and interest had been paid.By the night of the incident, Ramesh was ostensibly paying Rs 42,000 a day in interest. The moneylenders had allegedly told him to raise the daily payment to Rs 70,000 from Oct 26.According to the complaint, Ramesh had borrowed about Rs 4.5 lakh from Bandhiya three months ago and repaid nearly Rs 21 lakh. Despite this, he and his wife were forced to sign an undertaking acknowledging an additional liability of Rs 20 lakh and hand over signed cheques.The couple had also borrowed Rs 4.5 lakh from Bukhari and repaid more than Rs 15 lakh, police said. Yet they were made to sign documents showing dues of Rs 9 lakh. They paid Rs 1.2 lakh against a Rs 1 lakh loan from Dhusa. Ajaysinh allegedly continued to harass the family after the loan had been cleared.The family further alleged that Ramesh’s car was taken by an associate known as “Bapu” against loan dues. The vehicle was never returned and demands for further payments continued.The crisis came to a head on the evening of Oct 25 when Ramesh visited the garage of his nephew, Laxmidas Chavda, seeking Rs 8 lakh to fend off recovery agents. Around 11pm, Ramesh and Bharti broke down before relatives at their home and spoke about the extent of the pressure they were facing.Family members tried to reassure them. The couple later left the house on a motorcycle at about 1.45am.Fearing for their safety, Mavji and Laxmidas went to their unit at 3am. They found the shutter closed but unlocked, with the lights on inside. On opening the shutter, they found the couple hanged.
