Gandhinagar, Jan 4 (IANS): Gujarat's Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia has instructed all district heads and Police Commissioners to take stern action against private financiers, who are charging exorbitant interest rates and making borrower's life a hell, and even pushing them to take extreme steps.

Bhatia during a video conference with the officers on Tuesday evening gave instructions to act in such cases, where borrowers are being threatened or harassed, even forcing the borrowers to hand over their properties. The DGP told the officers that if such complaints come, senior police officers should act swiftly and file cases against the private financiers.

The instructions have been given following cases of harassment and suicides. Ten days ago, Jayanti Parmar, a farmer from the the Surendranagar district committed suicide, in his suicide note he had blamed nine financiers for forcing him to take the extreme step.

In the last 10 days of December, two traders of Ahmedabad committed suicide because of the harassment from financiers and a fruit trader from the Bapunagar area attempted suicide by consuming slipping pills. These private financiers charge an interest rate of 10 to 20 per cent, sometimes it is per day's interest.

While instructing the police officers, the DGP said that they should invoke sections of the Gujarat money laundering Act, 2011, if any lender has taken property, police should approach the revenue registrar and see that the property is re-transferred to the borrower, as the Act provides such protection to the borrower.