CUDDALORE: In a brutal incident that exposes the unchecked menace of mortgage sharks in Tamil Nadu, a 71-year-old man was kidnapped and tortured by a moneylender’s gang after his son didn’t repay an inflated debt. The sufferer, Natarajan of Chidambaram, misplaced a finger when the gang, allegedly led by financier Palanisamy, demanded ₹64 lakh in compensation on an unique ₹6 lakh mortgage.
In response to police, Manikandan, Natarajan’s son, borrowed ₹6 lakh from Palanisamy to assist his wholesale grocery enterprise. Via unregulated curiosity and threats, the debt ballooned greater than ten-fold. When father and son couldn’t meet the extortionate calls for, they fled to Mayiladuthurai district, however the gang tracked them down.
On Sunday morning, Palanisamy’s associates kidnapped Natarajan from Sirkazhi. A Cuddalore Outdated City Police Station workforce intercepted their car close to Cuddalore and located Natarajan severely overwhelmed, with one finger amputated as a type of coercion. He was rushed to Cuddalore Authorities Hospital, the place he stays underneath therapy.
5 suspects—key associates of Palanisamy—have been arrested. The incident has sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls to crack down on unlawful moneylenders. Residents of Chidambaram warn that these financiers function as a parallel energy construction: “They lend with out documentation and acquire with terror. What occurred to Natarajan might occur to any of us,” stated one native.
Human rights activists and authorized specialists are urging the Tamil Nadu authorities to launch a state-wide crackdown on mortgage sharks and set up fast-track courts for associated crimes. Natarajan’s household, nonetheless reeling from the ordeal, has one plea: “We wish justice—and safety from these monsters.”
