Eight members of a family attempted self-immolation in front of the Karnataka Assembly in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Police said the family took the extreme step because they were upset with a bank auctioning their house to recover loan dues.
According to a report by India Today, the family members, including women and children, poured kerosene on themselves outside the Vidhan Soudha (Karnataka Assembly). A quick intervention by the police averted what could have been a big tragedy. All the family members were detained by the police.
A video of the incident that went viral on social media showed cops taking the family into police vehicles.
The family said that they had taken a loan of Rs 50 lakh from the Bangalore City Cooperative Bank in 2016 to start a ginger cultivation business. Their business, however, incurred significant losses, leaving them struggling to repay the loan.
The family then sought help from Karnataka minister Zameer Ahmed Khan. “Despite assurance by the minister to lower loan interest, the bank kept imposing higher rates,” a member of the family was quoted by India Today as saying.
After the family failed to repay the EMIs, the bank moved to auction their house, valued at Rs 3 crore, for a mere Rs 1.41 crore to recover the dues.
“I have come here to beg Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for justice. We have come to the streets, and I don’t have money to feed my child. Zameer Ahmed Khan promised us, but nothing happened,” a woman of the family said before pouring kerosene on herself.
A case has been registered against the family under two sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 309 for attempted suicide and 990 for creating a public nuisance related to suicide.
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