The Sellur police here arrested a couple, V.Thavamani (49) and his wife Indira (37), for demanding ‘kanthu vatti’ (exorbitant interest on loan) from a family living in Sellur on Monday.
The police said K.Irulayee (45) of Sathyamoorthy Nagar had complained that she had borrowed Rs.5,000 from the couple in 2012. Claiming that she had repaid the principle and the interest, Irulayee said the couple, along with their son Prakash, had threatened her family members to repay Rs.18,000 more. Frightened by the threat, Irulayee’s son Kannan is said to have consumed pesticide in an attempt to commit suicide. He has been admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital.
The Sellur police have booked the family, including Kannan, and arrested the couple under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act - 2003.
