B'luru: Bizman claims Rs 63L interest paid on Rs 13L loan; three held for extortion, life threats

Bengaluru: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested three individuals for allegedly extorting over Rs 63 lakh from a city-based businessman against a loan of Rs 13 lakh, and threatening to have him killed using names of known rowdy-sheeters.

The accused have been identified as Deepak, Jayakumar, and Babu, all residents of Banashankari. A case was registered based on a complaint filed by M. Ravi, a businessman residing in Lakkasandra. Police said that some other accused are still absconding and efforts are underway to trace them.

What’s the complaint?

According to Ravi, he had known the prime accused Deepak for over 15 years. Through him, he came into contact with another accused, Jayakumar. In 2020, Ravi borrowed Rs 13 lakh from Deepak for business purposes. The agreement was to return Rs 26 lakh within a month, including interest. However, due to financial losses in his business, Ravi could not repay the amount on time.

Allegedly, Deepak then started demanding Rs 36 lakh, adding another Rs 10 lakh to the original deal. Ravi claims he began paying Deepak Rs 3.60 lakh per month as interest for over a year. Struggling to meet demands, Ravi even sold his house in Kurubarahalli for Rs 53 lakh, from which Deepak is said to have taken Rs 10 lakh. Additionally, Rs 8.5 lakh was allegedly withdrawn forcefully from Ravi’s account.

Threats and coercion

In another instance, Ravi was taken to Jayakumar’s location by Deepak, where he was allegedly coerced into handing over his car documents. Jayakumar reportedly gave Ravi Rs 8 lakh, but demanded a monthly interest of Rs 80,000. When Ravi delayed the payments, the accused, along with their associates, allegedly physically dragged and threatened to kill him.

Ravi further alleges that the accused created fake documents claiming a Rs 4 crore debt, obtained his signature under pressure, and continued to demand more money under threats of murder.

Driven to the edge

In his complaint, Ravi stated that he had already repaid Rs 63 lakh against the original Rs 13 lakh borrowed from Deepak and Rs 6.4 lakh against the Rs 8 lakh from Jayakumar. Despite this, they continued demanding more money and frequently called him with death threats. “I was harassed to the point that I attempted suicide four times. The only reason I stopped was because of my one-year-old daughter,” Ravi said in his plea to the police.

Criminal intimidation using gangster connections

The accused reportedly sent Ravi WhatsApp images showing them with notorious rowdy-sheeter ‘Silent’ Sunil, threatening that they would have him killed. They also shared pictures with other known criminals from Prakashnagar, including Viji and Purushottam, to further intimidate him, according to CCB officials.