Police arrested four moneylenders from Katwa in West Bengal's East Burdwan district for threatening and abetting a suicide attempt by a school teacher after he failed to repay a loan for which they charged him exorbitant rate of interest.
Animesh Sarkar had taken a Rs 5 lakh loan in 2019 for his father's treatment. He decided to end his life by suicide after the moneylenders threatened to sever his leg if he did not sell his home and misbehaved with his wife.
The suicide note fell into the hands of his son, who handed it to his mother. A complaint was lodged with the police and the suicide was averted.
Sarkar said that the outstanding amount continued to rise despite repayments to the moneylenders. Police said the four were arrested on Sunday night following the complaint and search is on for 13 others who were allegedly involved in the incident.
An investigation has been into the case, the police said.
A similar incident had allegedly occurred at Ketugram in the same district earlier this month in which local money lenders had severed a person's leg by tying him to a railway track.