BERHAMPUR: Ganjam police on Saturday arrested a 56-year-old man on charges of running an illegal money-lending business in Mamudiha village under Aska block.
The accused is Laxman Kumar Pani of the same village. The case came to light after Gobinda Naik (29), also of Mamudiha village, lodged a complaint on Friday. He alleged that Laxman had been luring financially distressed villagers with promises of loans while accepting motorcycles, mobile phones, land documents, vehicle papers and other valuables as collateral.
Gobinda stated that he had pledged his motorcycle, valued at around `80,000, and obtained a loan of `15,000 at an interest rate of three per cent per month. The accused allegedly took possession of the bike’s registration certificate, obtained the complainant’s signature on blank stamp papers, and later refused to return the vehicle even after the loan had been fully repaid. After repeated requests failed to yield any result, he approached the police.
Ganjam SP Harisha BC said, “During the investigation, police found that the accused had allegedly cheated at least 22 people using a similar modus operandi. Laxman had been operating an unlicensed money-lending business for several years, charging exorbitant interest rates and intimidating borrowers into repayment while withholding their mortgaged items.”
Police apprehended Laxman and conducted a search at the accused’s house. They seized 17 two-wheelers, 18 mobile phones, 15 ATM cards, 15 driving licences, cash worth `31,000, notebooks containing loan records, affidavits detailing loan transactions, vehicle documents, keys and other incriminating materials from his house. Police said the pledged articles were stored in a dilapidated house owned by the accused.
The investigation further revealed that the accused allegedly obtained borrowers’ signatures on blank stamp papers. Further investigation is on.
