Davanagere, Jan 28 (IANS): A female teacher committed suicide by jumping into a river, allegedly due to harassment by microfinance staffers in Karnataka's Davanagere district, said officials here, adding that her body was found on Tuesday.

The victim was identified as Pushpalatha, who had gone missing on January 26.

According to the police, Pushpalatha, a resident of Honnalli, and her husband Halesh, also a teacher, had taken a loan from a microfinance company in Shivamogga. It is alleged that Pushpalatha faced harassment from the staffers as they were unable to pay the final instalment of the loan EMI.

The microfinance staff frequently visited her house and even went to her school to harass her. They had also filed a complaint against the couple at the police station and summoned them there.

This constant harassment left Pushpalatha deeply depressed, and she expressed that the situation had hurt her immensely. On January 26, after attending Republic Day celebrations, Pushpalatha jumped into the river.

Following her disappearance, police discovered her bag and mobile phone near the Raghavendra Mutt. Suspecting that she had jumped into the river, authorities launched a search operation and eventually found her body floating about one kilometre away from the mutt.

CCTV footage collected from the Raghavendra Mutt showed Pushpalatha sitting on the riverbank, lost in deep thought, for a long time before the incident.

In another incident, a man reportedly died of a heart attack allegedly caused by harassment from microfinance staffers in Tumakuru district. The deceased has been identified as Syed Samiulla.

According to his family, Samiulla had taken a loan of Rs 4.66 lakh in 2019 from a microfinance company. By 2024, he had repaid Rs 7.20 lakh. However, the staffers continued to harass him, demanding repayment, as the amount paid was counted entirely as interest. The family claims that Samiulla was charged an exorbitant interest rate of 24.55 per cent.

Following his death, Samiulla’s wife, Tabassum Banu, pleaded with the authorities for help. She alleges that the staffers are now targeting her, and this harassment could push her and her children to consider suicide.

A woman in the Mysuru district of Karnataka committed suicide fearing torture by the microfinance company staffers. Mysuru is the native district of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The incident was reported from Ambale village in Mysuru district and the deceased was identified as 53-year-old Jayasheela. The police on January 27 said the woman had ended her life by consuming poisonous tablets.

According to the family, Jayasheela had obtained a Rs 5 lakh loan for carrying out farming and dairy farming and had to pay Rs 20,000 EMI every month. However, the cow, which she had bought from the loan amount, died. The woman also suffered losses as the crops could not fetch a good price. She had reached a stage where it had become difficult for her to lead a normal life. She purchased the poisonous tablets used in agriculture and committed suicide in nearby Hullahalli village.

These incidents occurred soon after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a high-level meeting on the issues faced by the people due to microfinance institutions. Addressing the press conference at Vidhana Soudha after the meeting on January 25, the CM announced that the government was committed to protecting the interests of borrowers who take loans from microfinance institutions.

He said strict legal action would be taken against those who harass borrowers and a new law will be formulated soon through an ordinance to safeguard borrowers' interests.