Lucknow: A Dalit man allegedly committed suicide following harassment by a finance company for non-payment of an outstanding loan in Gorakhpur on Tuesday.
According to sources, Koil Bharti (50) of Ambedkar Nagar in Pipiganj had borrowed Rs 40,000 from a finance company about a year ago. He had repaid a major portion of the loan with only the final instalment left unpaid. However, his family claimed that persistent pressure from the company employees to settle the remaining amount became unbearable, following which he took the extreme step.
According to the reports, five to six company employees allegedly visited Bharti’s home on Monday evening and humiliated him in front of his family. As he offered them Rs 200, they callously threw the money in his face before leaving. After they left, Bharti committed suicide by hanging himself with gamchha (scarf) from the ceiling. According to the victim’s family, he had been receiving continuous threats from the company for payment of the remaining instalment.
The police have taken the body in custody and are waiting for the postmortem report to initiate further investigations.
In-charge of Pipiganj police station PP Singh said that the cause of death will be determined once the report is received and further actions will be taken on the basis of the report.
