Couple attack sister-in-law over financial dispute

BENGALURU: A woman was allegedly brutally beaten by her sister and brother-in-law for asking them to repay a loan of Rs 20 lakh. The incident has sparked outrage, with allegations that police are siding with the accused.

Gangadevi H B had lent Rs 6 lakh to her sister elder sister Renuka and brother-in-law Ravishankar in 2002. After her husband’s death, she has been struggling to make ends meet and needed the money for medical treatment. When she asked her sister and brother-in-law to repay the loan, they attacked her with a wooden stick.

Despite filing a complaint with the Basaveshwara Nagar police, no action was taken, she alleged. The accused later agreed to repay Rs 6 lakh, but when Gangambike went to their house to ask for the money, they attacked her again, and Ravishankar allegedly stabbed her.

The police registered an FIR but haven’t arrested the accused. Instead, they’ve filed a counter-case against Gangambike’s son, a Congress worker, who was seeking justice for his mother.

“I had given a loan of Rs 6 lakh to my sister H B Renuka, my elder sister, in 2002. On January 2, I went to their house to ask for repayment of the loan as I was in need, when by brother-in-law Ravishankar assaulted me with a stick. My son Suhas, who was outside, asked me what had happened and he admitted to KG General hospital where a medico-legal case was registered. However, the police have done nothing”, she told Public TV.

“I then approached the court and then filed an FIR. My sister even signed a loan agreement on January 19. When I went to meet my sister again, he stabbed me and threatened to kill me. However, the police have not responded positively”, she said.