3 arrested after man dies in suicide bid with family at Hampi due to harassment from lenders

BALLARI: Three people have been arrested while the police are on the lookout for two others after a family of four had attempted suicide in Hampi recently by consuming pesticide. The husband had died while his wife and two children survived.

Chandraiah (42), his wife Sowmya (35) and two children, Bhavani (12) and Shivakumar (10) had gone to Hampi on Tuesday and went sight-seeing. On Wednesday morning, they went to the outskirts of Hampi where they attempted suicide. They were rushed to a hospital, but Chandraiah died.

Chandraiah worked at the SBI customer service point at Kottur.

Chandraiah was working at the SBI Customer Service Point at Kottur for the last six years and had borrowed loans of about Rs 10 lakh. His wife Sowmya said they attempted suicide as they were being harassed by the lenders to repay the loans.

Based on a complaint from Chandraiah’s brother, the Hampi tourism police registered a case against Jagadish, Basavaraj, Vamaiah, Guru Hunasikatti and Sirkanth. Of them, SBI Kottur branch supervisor Basavaraj, Kottur resident Jagadish and Srikanth, owner of a jewellery store at Pathikonda in Andhra Pradesh have been arrested.

Chandraiah had borrowed loans for the medical treatment of his mother and nephew. While he had borrowed Rs 4 lakh from Jagadish, he had taken loans of about Rs 6 lakh from Srikanth, Vamaiah and Guru Hunasikatti.

SBI supervisor Basavaraj had allegedly got Chandraiah’s bank account put on hold though he had cleared the loan. Unable to bear the harassment from the lenders, the family had decided to end their lives in a suicide pact.