DINDIGUL: An SC woman, a cattle rearer, and her husband were assaulted and the woman bitten by a man belonging to a dominant community demanding more interest for the money they had borrowed. Sources said the money-lender had allegedly demanded a weekly interest of Rs 500 for a loan of Rs 5,000.
Speaking to TNIE, the victim, M Kaliyammal, hailing from Vilvathapatti village in Puliyampatti panchayat said the money-lender, Rajendran, who also runs a provision store in the area, promised her Rs 5,000, he gave the amount on September 22 only after deducting Rs 500 towards interest.
“Since the interest rate was very high, I borrowed Rs 5,000 from a relative and returned Rajendran’s Rs 5,000 on October 9. When I objected to pay Rs 500 more towards interest, he slapped me with slippers, hurling casteist slur. When my husband interfered, Rajendran’s son Dhandapani, grabbed his neck. When I attempted to stop him, Rajendran bit my fingers,” she said. Kaliyammal’s husband Mahendran, a driver, said, “Nobody supported us when we were being thrashed,” he said.
Keeranur police filed a CSR, and a case has been booked against the father-son duo. “They are on the run,” a police officer said.