Pune: Textile Trader Dies By Suicide After Threats Over Loan Repayment; Five Booked

Pune: Chandannagar police have registered a case against five people, including an alleged moneylender, in connection with the death by suicide of a 34-year-old textile trader who allegedly faced repeated threats and harassment over the repayment of loans and interest. The police registered the case based on a suicide note left by the deceased and a complaint filed by his brother.

The deceased has been identified as Ravindra Subhash Asalkar, 34, a resident of Vadgaon Sheri. The suspects have been identified as Suresh Ramkrishna Jaybhaye, 43, Amit Raghunath Satav, 31, Shirish Prabhakar Gaikwad, 50, Manjiri Amit Kulkarni, 49, and a person identified only by the surname Awhale.

According to the complaint filed by Mahesh Subhash Asalkar, 38, Ravindra and Mahesh jointly ran a textile shop named Mauli Homes Wholesale Traders in Wagholi. The complainant alleged that they initially approached Jaybhaye for financial assistance after a bank refused to sanction a loan due to their credit score.

The brothers allegedly borrowed money from Jaybhaye at interest rates ranging from 3% to 5%. By 2024, they had borrowed approximately ₹47.8 lakh from him and were paying around ₹1.68 lakh every month as interest, the complaint stated.

The complainant further alleged that between January and April 2023, when Jaybhaye was in Mumbai, he obtained his wife's ATM card and withdrew ₹19.28 lakh through it. He also allegedly took 10 blank cheques from them.

As the textile business deteriorated due to the impact of the Covid pandemic and mounting debt, the brothers struggled to continue making repayments. During this period, Ravindra allegedly faced pressure and threats from Jaybhaye and his associates to repay the outstanding amounts.

The brothers subsequently borrowed ₹10 lakh from Kulkarni, ₹15 lakh from Satav and ₹10 lakh from Gaikwad. They allegedly paid around ₹1.5 lakh every month as interest on these loans. The complaint states that ₹5 lakh of the principal amount was repaid to Satav.

However, after the textile business shut down, the suspects allegedly continued demanding interest and principal repayments and threatened Ravindra with death, according to the complaint.

Ravindra died by suicide at his residence on July 20, 2026. Before his death, he reportedly left a suicide note naming individuals whom he held responsible for the harassment.

The complainant alleged that the family had paid a total of ₹1.13 crore under pressure but continued to face demands for further payments. Jaybhaye also allegedly pressured the complainant to transfer ownership of his house and four-wheeler to him.