Harassed by loan sharks, 48-year-old lab technician dies by suicide

Lab technician dies by suicide in Ambernath after harassment by loan sharks due to financial difficulties during pandemic. Four accused booked.

THANE: A 48-year-old lab technician at a private hospital in Ambernath died by suicide at his workplace on Monday after being harassed by loan sharks.

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According to the police, the lab technician was alone at his lab when he died by suicide. Another lab employee saw him and immediately called the police and ambulance. However, Nair was declared dead on arrival.

The lab technician was jobless during the Covid-19 pandemic and as a result, faced severe financial difficulties and had to take a loan from a private lender to pay his children’s school fees, and the lenders were pressurizing him to repay the amount in a day.

The police initially registered an accidental death report in the matter and started their investigation. “On examining his clothes, we found a handwritten note. It stated four names of loan sharks who were harassing him for the loan repayment: Mohini Shetty, Pratibha Kamble, Priti More and Sagar Vegad,” said a police officer.

Based on the note and the complaint filed by the deceased’s wife, the police booked the four accused under section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the wife — the couple and their two children — were happy till the pandemic struck them. During the pandemic, due to health issues, both lost their jobs, and they were struggling to run the household.

“My husband initially took a loan of ₹50,000, which he started repaying regularly. As I was in a Bachat Gat group, I met a woman who was lending money at the interest rate of 15 % per annum. She forced me to take the money from her to repay the loan. She assured me that there will be easy returns, and she will not demand the money immediately,” said the wife.

“We took the loan, but as the interest was high, it was difficult for us to repay it and simultaneously save money for daily expenses with my husband’s salary. We failed to pay two instalments, and the loan amount started increasing. Suddenly, the four people hired by the lenders started asking for money immediately, we requested that we not give such a big amount immediately, but they tried to threaten us with different means,” she said.

The wife also added that the day her husband died, he told her that he had made arrangements for money, but then she got a call informing her about her husband’s death.

“These women have a small group in the city and do small businesses. We are checking everyone’s background and whether the transactions done by them are legal or not,” said the police officer.