Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the State Assembly Pradipta Kumar Naik on Saturday blamed the BJD Government for its laxity towards the moneylenders and said the finance companies should enter into agreements with the Government with specific norms before establishing businesses.
He said the Government should monitor the companies, which give easy loans to poor people in the name of SHG and then send the borrower to jail after not getting arrear within the stipulated time.
His remarks came after four women of Kalahandi’s Ichhapur village were sent to Bhawanipatna jail on October 5. After ten days, the victims came out of the jail, and cases against them were closed only after the women paid the balance amount.
The matter came to light when a section of the village people met Naik and narrated their plights.
Naik said thousands of women have been the victim as they had been served notices by the Kolkata-based private company.
He told the media that the women borrowers are in fear of being sent to jail. And at best they (women) are trying to repay the loans after selling their properties.
Two years ago, four women of Ichhapur village had taken a loan of Rs 30,000 from a Kolkata-based private firm which had a office at Bhawanipatna.
As per agreement, borrowers had to repay the principal amount with interest in 26-30 installments. The women alleged that they had already paid 20 installments and the rest amount was delayed for some reasons. In between, the women had been served many notices to repay on time but they failed.
Ramchandra Naik, a victim’s husband, told the media the company should have given a few days more so that the arrear could have been deposited. “We faced a lot of humiliation in the society when all of a sudden my wife was forwarded to court,” said Ramchandra.
Sadar police station IIC Pradeep Kumar Dharuan said the police had received a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the women from the Kolkata metropolitan magistrate and accordingly they were forwarded to the local court under section 320 of the CrPC.