There were several instances of loan recovery agents indulging in indecent behaviour in the past. Some moneylenders, coming from neighbouring districts, however, are beating all the records by setting up ‘camps' in the houses of their borrowers till the time they get their money back.
“These moneylenders come and settle in our houses and demand that they be served with liquor and other delicacies till the time we pay their money back,” coordinator of Akrama (Adhika) Vaddi Vyaparula Vyatireka Porata Samiti C. Rajpal said at a press conference.
“Some lenders in Saroornagar and adjoining areas lure lower middle class women into taking a loan of Rs. 10,000 with an agreement that they would repay Rs. 16,000 at the end of three months. But they come back within a month and ask us to pay back Rs. 16,000 with a promise that they will give a further loan of Rs. 50,000. The trouble starts after this amount is accepted,” he explained.
Moneylenders target the women to cash upon their innocence, P. Lakshmi, a resident of Saroornagar and a victim of one such loan shark, said. “Female moneylenders persuade the ladies while they are alone in their homes. But once they accept the money, these people come in a group to collect the money. They intimidate the household members with abusive language and threats,” she said. For an amount of Rs. 20,000 that she took four years ago, moneylenders are demanding an amount of Rs. 3 lakh, she said. “Because the women are uneducated they do not understand that they are being fleeced with exorbitant interest rates,” she said.
Claiming that there are more than 1,000 people in the city who are caught in such debt traps, Mr. Rajpal demanded that the authorities take action against these moneylenders. The Samiti is planning programmes to highlight the plight of those caught in the trap.
