Harassed by moneylenders, BBMP contractor kills himself

A BBMP contractor allegedly killed himself over harassment from moneylenders.

The deceased has been identified as Venkatesh A, a resident of 8th Main, 4th Block, Basaveshwaranagar, 3rd Stage. He was a class 1 contractor.

According to a police complaint filed by his wife Devika M B, Vishwanath, Dharmendra Babu, Chandru, Gopi and other financiers harassed her husband, which led him to take this extreme step.

Basaveshwaranagar police have taken up a case against the four under IPC Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and are investigating the allegations, an officer said.

Devika told police her husband sustained losses while doing contract works taken by the Palike. He had taken loans on interest from financiers. From 2015 till his death, Venkatesh is said to have lost around Rs 20 crore, including assets, to pay off the interest.

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All four allegedly abused Venkatesh, asking him to return the money or die.

Vishwanath was pestering Venkatesh to return his money. To clear the debt, Venkatesh and his family made a sale deed of their house. Vishwanath had allegedly given a deadline of April 30 and threatened the family with dire consequences if they didn't move out.

Babu and his uncle had taken Venkatesh's signatures on blank cheques and stamp paper.

On Monday around 11 am, Venkatesh drank porridge at home and went to the terrace. He told Devika he would come down after some time. Devika suspected fishy as Venkatesh didn’t come down even after 30 minutes. She looked for him to find the bathroom door of the terrace room locked. She forcefully opened the door to find him lying on the floor with a rope tied around his neck.

He was later declared dead on arrival by doctors at KC General Hospital.