Gadag. A painful case has come to light from Karemma Kallu Layout of Gadag city of Karnataka. Here a businessman allegedly committed suicide due to constant threats and mental harassment from moneylenders. Before he died he recorded a video and in a detailed suicide note blamed the lenders for his death.
The deceased has been identified as Sampat Dandagi. He owned a book store and was also involved in real estate business. According to the police, he committed suicide by hanging himself in his house.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Sampat had taken a loan of Rs 15 lakh. He was paying interest of about Rs 56 thousand every month. After not being able to pay the interest for a month, the lenders allegedly started calling him continuously, threatening him and mentally harassing him.
The family members say that they had assured several times that they would repay the principal amount in installments but despite this the alleged harassment did not stop.
The family members have accused Ravi Shivangutty, Shashi Shivangutty and Dharma Gowda Kari Gowda of continuously threatening and harassing Sampath Dandagi and his wife.
In the video recorded before the suicide, Sampat Dandagi said, “I am making this video very disappointed. No one should help others beyond their capacity. I am losing my life because I helped the needy people. I always worked hard so that my parents and family could live a good life but when I was in trouble, no one came to help me.”
He said that today people have started giving more importance to status, property and gold than relationships. He told that the harassment of moneylenders has now become unbearable for him and that is why he decided to end his life.
Sampat Dandagi’s wife also made serious allegations. She said, “Kari Gowda used to call and threaten my husband every day. Ravi Shivangutti also used to constantly send messages and threaten to present cheques. He would repeatedly take my husband with him and harass him mentally. Now I have three small children in front of me. I don’t understand how I will raise them.”
According to the family, Sampat Dandagi along with his friends had taken this loan to expand his business. However, after suffering losses in business, he had appealed to the lenders to return the principal amount in installments and stop taking interest. It is alleged that instead the moneylenders increased the torture, due to which they broke down.
Sampat Dandagi’s mother Geeta told that she had called her daughter some time before the suicide. He had said that if he remained alive, the moneylenders would continue to harass the entire family. He had told his daughter that if I was not there, perhaps the family would be able to live peacefully.
Local people allege that the police has already taken action against such moneylenders and the process of expelling many people from the district was also started, but despite this the business of illegal moneylending is still continuing.
At present the police have registered the case and started investigation. Police are examining the video, suicide note and other evidence of the deceased.
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