BENGALURU: A family of six, including two women, doused themselves with kerosene in a suicide bid in front of the Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday morning, following which they were taken into custody by the police.
The family members said they had taken a loan of Rs 50 lakh by mortgaging their house in Padarayanapura, JJ Nagar, to grow ginger crops. Despite paying Rs 97 lakh, including the interest, the cooperative bank allegedly auctioned their property.
They also alleged that Housing Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan had promised to help them, but did not keep up. Without any place to stay, the family attempted to kill themselves. Initially, the family started protesting outside Vidhana Soudha seeking an appointment with the Chief Minister.
Later, one of the family members started pouring kerosene that was brought in a plastic bottle on each other and shouted to set themselves on fire. The police immediately took the family into custody. The police have registered a case against Mohammed Munaid (48), and his wife Shaishta Banu (44), residents of Padarayanapura.
“The Vidhana Soudha police have booked the couple for public nuisance (IPC 290) and attempt to commit suicide (IPC 309),” HT Shekhar, DCP (Central) told The New Indian Express. Banu alleged that their house worth around Rs 3 crores was auctioned by the bank for just Rs 1.41 crore. “We have been regularly going to the minister’s (Zameer Khan) house for the last two years, seeking his help to reduce the interest rate as we are facing financial issues. A loan of Rs 50 lakh was taken in 2016 for a ginger crop,” she added.