Debt forces Bangalore family to death

A farmer couple and their three children hanged themselves from the ceiling of their house in Bolegowdana Doddi, Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Unable to repay debts, Abdul Javed Pasha, 52, decided to commit suicide, along with his family. Pasha had borrowed `2 lakh from moneylenders to set up a dairy and poultry farm. But he did not reap profits.

Soon, moneylenders began hounding him, threatening him to repay the money. Unable to bear the trauma, the farmer decided to commit suicide.

His wife, Shakira Banu, 42, and three children — Yasmin Taj (22) Tasmin Taj (19) and Shoaib Pasha (20) — too took the extreme step along with him. The only survivor was the farmer’s son Wahid Pasha, 17, who was not at home when the unfortunate incident took place.

Chamarajanagar’s additional superintendent of police, KM Chandrashekar, rushed to the spot and found a death note that the farmer had left. It had the list on names from whom the farmer had borrowed money.

Following a complaint filed by Wahid, the police arrested three moneylenders— Shivamalle Gowda, Lokesh and Chikkanna— who had exerted pressure on the farmer.

These men have been over-charging other people in the village too.

Located at least 30 km away from taluk headquarters Kollegal, neither banks nor microfinance companies had paid a visit to the village to add villagers in the financial-inclusion schemes.