Four members of a family committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district by jumping into a lake on Thursday. The family was being harassed by the notorious 'call money' racket, a report in Times of India said.

On Thursday morning, 36-year-old Siva Kumar, a resident of Diguvanagulavaripalle village in Chittoor district, took his family to the Ayyappa temple to offer prayer. From there they drove to Yerravaripalem, a village some 15-20 kilometres away. On the banks of the Sitamma lake, they then posed for a family photograph before jumping into the water.

Villagers said they tried to save Siva Kumar, his wife Leelavathi (30) and their two children Naveen (8) and Kavya (6) but failed. Their bodies were retrieved from the lake in the evening.

Police investigation linked the mass suicide to the 'call money' racket. The family left behind a note naming the moneylenders whose harassment forced them to take the extreme step. Their neighbours, also, confirmed that Siva Kumar was being constantly harassed by moneylenders, the report said.

The money lending racket makes loans readily available on the basis of phone calls. The moneylender comes to the borrower's doorstep with the cash and a promissory note.

The interest rates range between 120% and 200%. The lender, similarly, can ask for the money back over the phone at any time. If the borrower can't repay, life and property come under threat. Recently this racket has taken a deadly turn in Andhra Pradesh. Raid by police has also exposed the deep-rooted association private moneylenders have with leaders of all political parties as well as some bureaucrats.

The Chandrababu Naidu government on Wednesday ordered a judicial commission to probe the infamous racket. The commission will also probe the alleged sexual exploitation of women borrowers in some cases.

The racket came to light in Patamata when a Vijayawada-based woman lodged a complaint last week after she was forced to cough up about Rs 6 lakh for a Rs 1.5 lakh loan she had taken. Three persons were arrested, while four others are on the run. A top lender, Buddha Nageswara Rao, who is the elder brother of TDP MLC Buddha Venkanna, was also taken into custody.

TOI quoted a senior cop from Kadapa town saying that it is becoming easy to nab down the moneylenders and individual chit fund operators now that the victims are coming forward to lodge complaints. On Thursday, two women attempted suicide due to harassment by moneylenders.

Meanwhile, two women who had borrowed money from policemen at high interest rates approached the media alleging that the men in khaki had been harassing them. A woman lodged a complaint with the East Godavari police against Surya Prakash, assistant sub-inspector of Sarpavaram, alleging that the official had been demanding more than the principal borrowed. She told media that she had borrowed Rs 1.60 lakh.

Another woman in Chittoor district alleged that a constable attached to Tirupati traffic police station had threatened that he would sell her children in a red light area in Mumbai. The woman had borrowed Rs 10,000 and shifted her family to Kadapa fearing atrocities by the constable.

The state government was also criticised for allegedly shielding ruling party members who have come under scanner for their association with 'Call Money' lenders.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh orders judicial probe into call money racket



