An electrician, who was allegedly harassed over debt and loan recovery, died by suicide by hanging himself in Vishal Colony on Kakowal Road here.
The deceased has been identified as Buta Singh. His wife, Veerpal Kaur, has accused certain individuals and recovery officials of a bank of mentally harassing her husband and repeatedly pressuring him for money.
The police recovered a handwritten suicide note from the spot in which the deceased held some people and vehicle recovery agents responsible for his death. They registered a case and initiated an investigation.
In her statement to the police, Veerpal Kaur said she got married to Buta Singh in 2014. The couple had two children, 11-year-old daughter Khushpreet Kaur and four-year-old son Fateh Singh.
According to the family, Buta worked as an electrician but his earnings had dipped in recent months. He had defaulted on some instalments of his Maruti Alto car loan, which was taken from AU Small Finance Bank, due to the same. After the instalments stopped, recovery officials from the bank began visiting his house frequently.
Besides, Buta had also borrowed money from some people. Veerpal Kaur alleged that all of them repeatedly demanded money and mentally harassed her husband.
On the evening of May 18, around 6:30 pm, Buta returned home from work and sent his wife and children to market to buy groceries. At that time, his mother Sarabjit Kaur was away at the factory for work. When the family returned around 8 pm, they found the iron gate of the house locked from inside.
Despite repeated calls, when no one opened the gate, neighbour Shiva Kant Mishra entered the house through the adjoining house and opened it. Upon reaching the upper floor, the family found Buta Singh hanging from a girder with a stole. The family and neighbours brought him down but the victim was already dead.
The next day, while searching the room, the family found a handwritten suicide note beneath the mattress. In the note, Buta reportedly stated that he was taking the step due to Gupta, Banni’s mother, Taji, Vinay and vehicle recovery agents.
The family has handed over the suicide note and the piece of stole used by the victim to the police. The police started an investigation on the basis of the complaint.