KRISHNAGIRI: A farmer died by suicide near Hosur in Krishnagiri district in the early hours of Saturday allegedly after being harassed by the loan recovery agents of a private financial company.The deceased has been identified as K Ramachandran,39, of Devasanapalli village near Shoolagiri. He is survived by wife Anjali, 30, and two young sons.Two years ago, Ramachandran borrowed Rs 14 lakh from a private financial company, after pledging his farmland. For nearly one and a half years, he paid his monthly installments on time. “However, for the past four months, he struggled to make payments on the due dates and often settled them late,” said an officer at the Uddanapalli police station.On July 29 and 30, loan recovery agents allegedly sat outside his house from morning till night and pressed him for payment. “Though he managed to pay the installment on Friday, he was said to be deeply distressed,” the officer said. Later, Ramachandran told his wife to take care of their children if anything happened to him. He then locked himself in a room. Hearing noises from inside, Anjali raised an alarm. With the help of neighbours, she forced open the door and found him hanging from a beam.Anjali lodged a complaint at the Uddanapalli police station, accusing the private finance company of harassment.
