Mumbai: A 40-year-old estate agent hanged himself to death on Thursday morning in his house at Dahisar (W). Amol Vaity, who was debt-ridden having taken loans from several commercial banks, had sent a suicide note on WhatsApp and mentioned that he was harassed by loan recovery agents, which drove him to suicide.
Maharashtra Housing Board (MHB) Police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the matter and will investigate further.
Amol, a real estate consultant, stayed with his family in the ancestral row house at Kandarpada in Dahisar (W). He was allegedly harassed by the loan recovery agents for months over irregular payments of loans.
Early on Thursday morning, Amol wrote a suicide note on WhatsApp and sent it to over 250 contacts in his mobile phone, unaware that his phone was on airplane mode. After sending the note, Amol hung himself from the ceiling fan, with the help of a dupatta.
Police said that around 7.45 am on Thursday, when Amol’s wife entered the living room, she found her husband hanging from the ceiling fan. She immediately alerted the family members and neighbours, who rushed Amol to the civic-run Shatabdi Hospital, where he was declared dead before arrival. The hospital authorities then alerted police, who rushed to the hospital.
A team led by police sub inspector Tejasvi Shinde reached the hospital and began the investigation. Amol had unpaid dues from RBL bank credit card, RBL Bajaj credit card, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, HDFC Credit card, Citibank credit card, Amex credit card said police.
Neighbours and family members affirmed that a few loan recovery agents had visited Amol, asking him about the loan repayment. However, Amol then requested them to not to visit his house and scream. Amol’s family said, he was repaying the loan in installments and was paying the late payment fees as well.
The loan recovery agents, however, did not budge and continued to call him on the phone and use abusive languages.
Amol mentioned in his suicide note, “An HDFC Bank credit card recovery agent, Nikhil Vishwakarma, has always used abusive language and harassed me repeatedly. Because he insulted me every time he insulted me and my family, I was provoked me to end my life.”
An ADR has been registered at MHB police station and police are investigating the case to ascertain if an abetment to suicide case is to be taken.
Meanwhile, police will be recording the statements of Amol’s family members and respective banks mentioned in the suicide note. Police have been trying to contact Vishwakarma, who was mentioned in the suicide note, but his phone was switched off. He will be called for questioning once his phone is switched on.
