Police arrest moneylenders, recover blank cheques

MYSURU: Mandya police arrested at least seven private moneylenders and registered cases against them. They also seized blank cheques and on-demand promissory notes.
Holding private moneylenders responsible for farmers' suicides, police acted on complaints filed by villagers in Nagamangala and Pandavapura taluks.
Based on a complaint from Prasad NG, a resident of Naroganahalli village in Nagamangala taluk, to Bindiganavile station, police arrested Siddalingaswamy and sealed his Sri Annapurneshwari Finance firm.Police seized more than 200 empty cheques and promissory notes.
Acting on a similar complaint by Nagaratna, a resident of Srirangapatna town, police registered a case against private moneylender Manjunath, a resident of Kennalu village in Pandavapura taluk, for taking exorbitant interest from farmers.
Likewise, when Dinesh, a resident of Chinakurali village in Pandavapura taluk, complained to Pandavapura police, cases were filed against private moneylenders Sumitra, Siddamma, Angadi Narashima, Somanna and Dinesh. Police seized 13 empty cheques and 12 on-demand promissory notes.
Police registered a case under Karnataka Money Lenders Act 1961, Karnataka Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act, 2004, and Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), IPC section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt).