1.5-month-old infant, nursing mother among family of 7 evicted by finance firm over loan dues

BELAGAVI: A family of seven, including a one-and-half-month-old infant and two other children, were forced out of their house by representatives of a private financial institution and the Mudalagi police over non-payment of three EMIs, at Naganur village in Mudalgi taluk on Monday.

The family was forced to spend the night outdoors without any food and the nursing mother was forced to sleep outside along with the child as the bank officials seized the house. The villagers have criticised the action of the financial institution and the police.

Farmer Saidappa Shankrappa Gaddadi had taken a loan of Rs 5 lakh from the Chikkodi branch of the Chennai-headquartered Equitas Small Finance Bank for dairy farming about two-and-half years ago. However, the two bufalloes he had bought with the loan amount had died. Despite that Saidappa claimed that he had paid 27 instalments of Rs 14,390 every month.

Saidappa claimed that he had not paid the last three instalments and he had to shell out Rs 85,000 for his daughter’s delivery. However, the finance company claims that none of the money had reached it. The company authorities, through its lawyer, pasted a notice on the house and evicted the occpants with the help of the police.