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Money-lending racket busted, one held
POLICE BUSTED a money-lending racket and arrested its kingpin. The gang was engaged in looting and displacing people in the name of realisation of loans. Police recovered blank stamp papers with signatures of defaulters and post dated cheques drawn in favour of nationalised and private banks. They also recovered two licensed rifles from the house of the arrested man Sanjiv Rai in Siddhgiribagh, under the Sigra police station.
POLICE BUSTED a money-lending racket and arrested its kingpin. The gang was engaged in looting and displacing people in the name of realisation of loans.
Police recovered blank stamp papers with signatures of defaulters and post dated cheques drawn in favour of nationalised and private banks.
They also recovered two licensed rifles from the house of the arrested man Sanjiv Rai in Siddhgiribagh, under the Sigra police station.
Rai had loaned Purvanchal mafiosi’s money to borrowers at a very high interest rate.
Senior superintendent of police Ashutosh Pandey told mediapersons on Saturday afternoon that Rai headed a gang that robbed people in the name of realisation of loans. He used to lend money at 10 to 12 per cent rate of interest per month, the district police chief added.
The SSP said Rai imposed penalty of Rs 100 per day on late payment of monthly interest.
No borrower could return the principal amount before the expiry of three months since the grant of loan. This meant the lender earned a minimum of three months of interest on a single transaction.
The SSP said the money lender had disbursed loans of around Rs 2 crore against which he was earning profit of Rs 3 crore per annum.
Sigra police conducted the raid on Rai’s residence following a complaint by a woman teacher, a resident of the Agastyakund area.
She alleged that Rai had realised compound interest of Rs 9 lakh against a loan of Rs 2 lakh. The loan was taken in 2004. He was demanding more money, she added.
Police found documents which proved that Rai had disbursed loans worth Rs 63 lakh.
Police were trying to arrest the accomplices of Rai.
Suicide: A 25-year-old youth committed suicide after shooting to himself from a countrymade pistol at his house in Kamachacha area in Bhelupur on Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Sandeep Yadav, a resident of Saharsa area in Bihar. Police recovered the pistol and a suicide note from the scene.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old weaver, Aslam, was electrocuted in Adampur area in the morning. The mishap took place when the man got in touch with a broken live wire of electric pole.
