11 Sardar families become landless as loan sharks deny returning land

By Jaykrishna Yadav,Inaruwa, Aug. 19: The denial from loan sharks to return the lands kept as collateral has left 11 families in Dewanganj Rural Municipality of Sunsari district landless. 

All 11 victims are from Sardar families and live near Kaptanganj, a village in Ward No. 3 of Dewanganj. They have accused several loan sharks of not returning their lands kept as collateral while taking loans.

Phulo Sardar, Sukuni Sardar, Maithali Sardar, Dipu Sardar, Laxman Sardar, Sundarwati Sardar, Mayadevi Sardar (Batar), Harilal Sardar and Juwawati Sardar, among others, shared that their lands were not returned.

The victims have accused loan sharks – Kamalesh Yadav, Mahendra Mehta, Gita Mehta, Gopal Yadav, Samar Kishor Mehta, Anil Bhagat, Rameshwor Bhagat and Sital Yadav and others – of usurping their lands. In a group discussion between the victims and the loan sharks in the village attended by The Rising Nepal, the victims accused the loan sharks of not returning their lands kept as collateral even after repaying the loan amount at a high-interest rate.

"Phulo Sardar took a loan of Rs. 100,000 from local Gopal Yadav in 2005 after a formal agreement. By 2009, she paid back Rs. 244,000. However, she needed some more money to send her son abroad, so she asked for an additional loan of Rs. 200,000 by signing an agreement and keeping 10 dhurs of her land under hypothecation," said Rekha Devi Sardar, a local.

According to Rekha Devi, Phulo had to pay back the loan at an interest rate of 36 per cent. "The loan shark usurped Phulo's land saying he bought the land by amassing the unpaid interest amount by Phulo," she added.

As Phulo's land is now in the name of Gopal, she has been regularly threatened to leave her house and land.

On the other hand, Juwawati Sardar informed that she had kept two katthas of land under hypothecation while borrowing Rs. 100,000 from loan shark Kanaleshwori Yadav. "I have already paid Rs. 400,000. However, the land is yet to be returned," said Juwawati.

Similarly, Harilal Sardar said that he had paid back the loan of Rs. 315,000 to Gita Mehta at an interest rate of 36 per cent for five years. "I kept two katthas of land under hypothecation for the loan in 2016. I have paid back the agreed amount, but the land has not been returned," Harilal complained.

According to the victims, they have been left landless due to the tyranny of the loan sharks. However, loan sharks, accused of usurping the lands, have denied the accusations. 

"We bought those lands when the rate of the land was cheap. However, as the rate has risen of late, we are being accused unnecessarily," the loan sharks echoed. According to Samar Kishor Mehta, one of the accused loan sharks, he has bought lands from more than a dozen individuals during the same period.

While the government has made unscrupulous lending and loan sharking at an interest rate of over 10 per cent per annum a crime and the respective district administration offices directed to solve loan sharking cases, the victims of Dewanganj said that they were waiting for justice.

Meanwhile, government authorities informed that they were investigating the complaints they received about loan sharking. "We call the victims and the loan sharks after a complaint is lodged. We ensure that a lender gets his money back at the interest rate of no more than 10 per cent and the borrower pays no more than the set rate," said Humkala Pandey, Chief District Officer of Sunsari.

Giving an example of a solved case, the District Administration Office of Sunsari said, "A man from Dharan had come with a complaint. He had taken Rs. 5.4 million in loan. However, the lender filed a case of cheque bounce against the borrower demanding Rs. 46 million. An agreement was reached where the borrower is now required only pay Rs. 11 million in return."

"A majority of the complaints about loan sharking have been received from Dewanganj. They will be investigated and justice will be ensured," said CDO Pandey.