Mumbai police form 10-man team to hunt down loan sharks

Loan recovery agents have been accused of harassing borrowers. Representation pic

With the menace of loan recovery agents rapidly increasing in the city, the Mumbai police have finally taken a step to address the issue of loan sharks. A dedicated team of 10 cops has been formed to investigate the recent suicide of a 38-year-old man from Kurar, Malad East, as well as other similar cases filed in the zone. Cops believe cracking the Malad case will help the entire police force deal with such cases registered with them.

Loan recovery agents hired by loan apps often resort to harassing and slandering the borrowers by sharing their morphed photos or videos with their family and friends. Unable to deal with the continuous harassment and blackmail, some also take their own lives, as was the case with the Malad man, who had not even taken a loan.

Nikkhhil Jethwa and Advocate Dipak More, founders of Loan Consumer Association - a group that deals with such cases and guides victims with free legal advice, met DCP (Zone XI) Somnath Gharge on Monday and sought immediate and strong action against the loan app owner and the recovery agents involved in the case.

Loan apps hire agents to recover loans for defaults leading to harassment of the borrower. Representation pic

"The harassment meted out by these app agents is terrible and it has cost a person's life. A sole breadwinner left behind a 6-year-old boy, wife and parents. We met the cops and explained that there are several cases in the city and numerous victims are facing harassment from agents. If cops start arresting the accused, it will reveal the nexus and dirty modus of such app agents," said Jethwa, adding, "Cops should find the owners of these apps and book them."

DCP Gharge told mid-day, "We have taken serious cognisance of the matter and formed a dedicated team of 10 cops including 2 officers. Similar cases of harassment by recovery agents have been filed in Samta Nagar and Dahisar police stations. The detection of these crimes will also help reveal more such cases filed across the city."

In the recent case, a 38-year-old committed suicide in his home in Malad due to constant harassment by recovery agents for a loan he never took. The recovery agents called his colleagues and told them that he borrowed the loan and failed to repay it. The victim and his brother had filed a complaint with Kurar police station, but as the harassment did not stop, he decided to take his life on May 4.

Kurar cops have registered an FIR against unknown persons who called his friends and colleagues under sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 420 (cheating), 500 (defamation) of the IPC and IT Rules, 2000.

10
No. of cops in the dedicated team