BENGALURU: A 40-year-old unemployed techie and father of two died by suicide after jumping in front of an approaching train near Anekal railway station following alleged harassment by loan recovery agents and officials of a leading bank.
They are said to have barged into Gaurishankar Sharma’s apartment and humiliated him by locking him out of the house for not paying installments for 18 months, states the complaint filed by his brother-in-law, Rajeev Rajan, a businessman from Bihar.
The bank representatives paid no heed to his words that he would end his life if they threw him and his family on the streets like this, says the complaint. It names Rakesh Kumar Sinha, the bank’s assistant vice president, home loans section, and staffer Prasanna C for his death.
The incident came to light only on Thursday (July 18) though Sharma died on Friday (July 12) and his body was identified by the family on Monday (July 15).
The shocker is that no one in his family circle, including his wife, a teacher in a prominent private school, were aware about his financial issues, Rajan told TNIE.
Sharma, a native of Bihar, was employed in a senior role at Siemens Technologies in Bengaluru for 12 years, he said. He was laid off in 2019 with a few others and had been struggling to find a job since then with the pandemic too playing a role. He was residing at a 2BHK flat with his family in a huge residential complex on the Anekal-Chandapura Road.
The family has now gone to immerse his ashes in the Ganges. Speaking from Gaya, Rajan said, “After I heard about the house being locked, I rushed from Bihar by a 3 am flight to reach Bengaluru and pay Rs 3.24 lakh, the instalment amount due for the last 1.5 years. I had paid the amount and collected their house key from the bank on Monday. Just as I was about to leave the bank, I got a WhatsApp message from the police with a picture of his body asking me to identify him.”
He added, “I finally got the key to the house from the bank but the owner was dead.”
Sharing details of what led Sharma’s death after interacting with the neighbours, Rajan said, “Armed with a court order, an advocate, three bank representatives including a loan recovery agent and a constable reached the house at 12.30 pm on Monday when he was alone. His wife was at school and his 16-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter were at school. They ordered him to open the door and threw him out. He was not even allowed to take his wallet or Aadhaar card or anything else. Barring a phone on his hand, he had nothing.”
A neighbour (requesting anonymity) told TNIE, “I could hear him telling the people that his children and wife will be on the streets if they do this and to give him time till Monday to pay the dues. He was telling them he would end his life if he was humiliated like this. They were ordering him to pay up the entire home loan amount of Rs 17.58 lakh (which had a loan agreement till 2033) and not just the pending instalments if he wanted the house.”
After his pleas went unheard and his house was sealed with a bank notice outside it, he went to his wife’s school and told her there was an emergency at home. “Even as my sister went to meet the principal to take permission, a very upset Sharma walked to the railway tracks near Anekal, 1.5 km away, and fell in front of an arriving train,” Rajan said.
His wife reached home and saw the notice and then understood the issue. “My sister called me up immediately and I spoke to the bank number pasted outside the door and assured them I would make the payment by Monday. She also went to the police station and an FIR had been registered that her husband was missing," Rajan added. However, police refused to book an FIR after he died despite my repeated pleas, he alleged. "I was only allowed to file a complaint and no acknowledgement has been given for the same."
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)