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, prompting police to register a case of murder and kidnapping against the firm owner and two others, officials said.
The family of farmer Chandrakant Shinde (40) claimed the finance company allegedly demanded Rs 70,000 against the loan of Rs 10,000 and claimed its employees confined and fatally assaulted him before hanging his body to pass off the death as a suicide.
One suspect has been detained, while police are looking for others in connection with the incident, which occurred on Saturday, the officials said.
Shinde, a resident of Malkoutha village in Mudkhed tehsil, owned two acres of agricultural land. His family said he had borrowed Rs 10,000 from Khalsa Finance.
The family claimed 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. The company had demanded Rs 70,000 against the original loan of Rs 10,000, they charged.
The family has demanded 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 (SP) 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 the police would take appropriate action on their complaints.
Local residents 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.
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The Maharashtra government told the state Assembly on 25 June that as many as 6,667 farmers died by suicide in 2023, including 217 in the drought-prone Marathwada region.
According to data presented by the government, the total includes 4,150 farmers, 2,519 farm labourers and 77 women farmers.
Several landless farmers who died by suicide are not included in the official figures, according to information shared in the Assembly.
The figures were disclosed amid concerns over delays in compensation for affected families and questions over the functioning of crop insurance schemes in the state.