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‘Harassed by moneylender’: Brothers kill selves at Chandni Chowk showroom
The brothers, aged 47 and 42, left behind a “suicide note”, in which they blamed their “poor financial condition” for their step but did not “name” any person.
Two brothers, both jewellers who suffered financial losses due to the Covid pandemic and the lockdown , allegedly hanged themselves at their shop in the Walled City’s Chandni Chowk on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
The brothers, aged 47 and 42, left behind a “suicide note”, in which they blamed their “poor financial condition” for their step but did not “name” any person.
Family members and employees, however, alleged the brothers were “thrashed” and “threatened” by the musclemen of a private financer from whom they had taken a loan but were not able to repay it or pay the monthly interest because of losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said a police officer, who did not want to be named.
“The family verbally made the allegations. Their statements are being recorded in writing. The allegations will be verified and further action will be taken accordingly,” deputy commissioner of police (north) Monika Bhardwaj said.
The DCP said police received a call about the hanging of the brothers on the third floor of their shop. “An employee saw the two brothers hanging and raised an alarm. Their father was on the first floor at that time,” Bhardwaj said.
Police said the elder brother was married and is survived by his wife and two children. The younger one is unmarried. The family lives in north Delhi.
Speaking to media persons, the father and another brother of the two jewellers alleged they were being “threatened by a local businessman and his associate” and the two “hanged themselves because of the torture”.
“We want police to call those people. They should not be harassing someone so much so that the person kills himself. Today, my brothers died. We don’t want anyone else to take a similar step,” the brother said.
He alleged that his two brothers were being “harassed” daily since the lockdown. “When business was shut during the lockdown, how could have they paid the money,” he alleged.
Another police officer associated with the incident said on the condition of anonymity that the two brothers had allegedly borrowed around Rs 60 lakh on interest from private financiers. As they were unable to return the money or pay the interest amount, the financers used to send their “bouncers” to their showroom to collect the money.
“Many moneylenders used to come to the showroom and torture them (the two brothers). They used to ask them to consume poison if they did not have money to pay,” an employee of the showroom told the media persons, saying he had been working there for nearly 15 years.
Yogesh Singhal, president of the bullion and jewellers’ association of Kucha Mahajani, Chandni Chowk, released a video statement regarding the incident. “The death of the two brothers is disturbing news for the jeweller fraternity. The jewellery business is affected because of the Covid-19 pandemic and jewellers have become debt-ridden. The moneylenders harass them for getting back their money,” he said.
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