Harassed by money lenders a 32-year-old steel fabrication businessman committed suicide by hanging at his shop on Tuesday evening.

Police said family members took him to Hamidia Hospital where  after checking him, the doctors declared him dead.

The deceased's brother has said that he committed suicide because he was harassed by the debtors. He alleged that the harassment from the loan collection agents had made his brother's life miserable.

He said that the agents used to come to his house in the morning before his brother woke up. They used to threaten him to pay the money, and if he did not pay, they threatened to send him to jail and even beat him up. My brother was so fed up that he thought it better to commit suicide. The accused should be given strict punishment. The case should be investigated thoroughly.

Ankit Yadav lives in Awadhpuri near Khajuri Kalan Government School. He said that his elder brother Anand Yadav (32), used to operate a fabrication workshop near his house. He got married eight years ago and took a loan to expand his business.

When he faced difficulty in repaying it, he took loans from some people and had a debt of about Rs 5 lakhs. In repayment of five lakhs, he had gradually paid more than this amount. Even after this, the moneylenders living in the area were continuously collecting money in the name of interest. Due to this, it had become difficult for Bhaiya to run his household. The situation was such that people used to come to the house and create a ruckus for collection. Even before the buffalo would wake up from sleep, the collectors would come to the house.

They used to threaten him and harass in front of his wife and children. Abusive language was used. They used to harass him even by going to his shop. He was defamed in the neighborhood. He was called a thug and depressed over this he committed suicide. He was forced to commit suicide by Rahul, Khushi Lal, Shahrukh, Arjun Bhagat, Anil Bairagi, Dinesh Yadav. Strict action should be taken against all of them.

Police station in-charge Awadhpuri Roshanlal Bharti said that detailed statements of family members could not be recorded. No suicide note has been found near the deceased. The matter is being investigated. Further action will be decided on the basis of facts found in the investigation.