The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Pressure from bank forced farmers to end life: report

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Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Pressure from bank forced farmers to end life: report

Nagesh Prabhu

The two farmers had borrowed agricultural loans
Mysore DC has sumitted a report to RBI

BANGALORE: “Undue pressure” by ICICI Bank and its recovery agents forced two farmers to commit suicides in Mysore and Chamarajangar districts last month.

This was stated in reports sent by the Deputy Commissioners of Chamarajangar and Mysore districts to the State Government and the Reserve Bank of India, Regional Office, Bangalore. The reports state that two farmers had committed suicide on account of pressure exerted by ICCI Bank officials.

Farmer Siddaraju of Harve village of Chamarajnagar district and farmer H.M. Manjunath of Hosapura in Nanjnagud taluk of Mysore district committed suicide last month unable to repay bank loans taken from ICICI Bank.

Following the suicide by two farmers, there were wide-spread protests against the bank officials in the two districts by farmers’ organisations.

Mysore Deputy Commissioner N.S. Channappa Gowda in a report to the General Manager, Planning and Credit Department, RBI regional office here, has requested the RBI to appoint an inquiry committee to give logical end to the incident in which farmer committed suicide. “Otherwise, farmers’ organisations may again resort to agitations at any time and disrupt work in the bank,” he said in his report.

An ICICI Bank official however refuted that charge that the bank has put undue pressure on farmers to repay the loan. Speaking to The Hindu over telephone from Mumbai, the official said: “Let the panel come out with its findings, we will accept it.” The reference was to a five-member panel to investigate the whole issue set up by the Deputy Commissioners in both districts.

The Deputy Commissioner of Mysore, who visited the Hosapura village, stated in the report that ICICI Bank agreed to abide by the finding of the RBI team and would deposit a sum of Rs. 10 lakh by way of bond for payment of compensation to the family if found guilty.

The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India has prescribed minimum standards of banking practices in dealing with individual customers. The bank had seized the vehicle of the deceased farmer (Manunath) on last December 4 at 12 noon and it issued a telegram to the deceased on the same day at 1.15 pm. The farmer had borrowed Rs. 4.79 lakh. Besides seizure of the vehicle, the bank also mortgaged five acres of land of the farmer. In his report Chamarajnagar Deputy Commissioner K. Vishwanath Reddy said farmer Siddaraju who borrowed Rs. 4.97 lakh to buy a tractor, committed suicide on last December 12.

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