Mumbai:
As recovery agents come to assume Shylock-like proportions for those defaulting on their loans, Wednesday night saw a family being made homeless, allegedly because of persecution by the agents for being unable to make loan payments on time. The harassment has driven them to the extent of threatening to commit suicide.
The residence of Diliprao Patil, who lives in Empire Building in Sher-e-Punjab society in Andheri (E) with wife and two kids, got caught in the recovery agents' crosshairs, after he skipped a few months' payment on a business loan of Rs 44 lakh.
Patil said, "I had taken a loan of Rs 44 lakh in February 2009 and I had been paying the installments. But I skipped some months' payments."
But things threatened to spin out of control when the finance company's goons broke in an entry in the Patil residence yesterday in their absence, shoving their elder son out of the house.
On Wednesday morning at about 9 am, Patil with wife Rita, was about to leave home for the Debts Recovery Tribunal Court in Ballard Pier.
They were to make an appearance in the court for an on-going legal battle against a well-known finance company.
But before the couple could set forth, around 15 people came and attempted to thwart their plan, Patil alleges. As a result of the hold-up, they couldn't make it to the court on time.
When they finally departed, the couple left for the court. When they returned at around 8 pm, they found their sons standing outside the building, the younger one, Glen (14), clutching his school bag in hand.
The same gang had revisited the place, and bullied, mauled and ousted him, Patil's elder son Clarence (19) told him.
"When my parents left for the court, about 15 people came and started abusing me. They told me to get out of the house. When I refused to move, one of them slapped me. And I was pushed out of the house," said Clarence.
When Patil tried going in, he found that the goons had sealed it, leaving the family stranded outside the building, dispossessed of their house and possessions. Until 1.30 am last night, they were sitting on a piece of cloth near the building.
Said a homeless and raging Patil, "If we are not given the possession of our house, which has illegally been taken away, we will commit suicide.
The company has not even sent the notice directly to us. The society informed us a notice has come in my name. I was even ready to sell my flat to pay back the loan. I went to the court to get a stay in the case."
Sushan Kunjuraman, an advocate, said, "The actions of the recovery agents are unlawful."