Patna, Mar 11 (IANS): A 40-year-old man shot himself in Bihar's Arrah city late on Thursday night, an official said.

The victim, Vimal Kishore Singh, resident of Arrah's Pakadi locality, was under a debt of Rs 20 lakh.

As per the statement of his mother Kalawati Devi, her son had taken Rs 20 lakh from local lenders to establish his business, but due to the pandemic, his business never took off and he was unable to repay the money.

"For the last few months, lenders have been calling him regularly for their money. As Vimal was unable to return the amount, he got depressed," said Kalawati Devi, in her statement to the police.

"On Thursday, Vimal returned home around 11 pm. After having dinner, he went to sleep. However, a few minutes later, he called me to his bedroom. When I went there, he said that lenders are continuously calling him to return the money and he is unable to handle the pressure. He then suddenly pulled out his countrymade Katta and shot himself," Kalawati Devi said.

"Vimal was depressed for the last few months. Hence, his sister sold her gold jewellery and lent him Rs 12 lakh. However, Rs 8 lakh principal amount along with interest was still remaining," she said.

Due to the debt, his wife, Nisha Singh, also left him.

"We have recorded the statement of the victim's mother. Besides, the FSL team also reached the spot and took samples, especially the weapon. We are corroborating the statement of the victim's mother along with circumstantial evidence. The body has been sent for postmortem," said RP Sharma, the investigating officer from Arrah's Nawada police station.