RPF staff supports illegal money lenders
A driver (money lender) reportedly circulates Rs 3 crore in money lending spree
Nagpur: Financial constraints are not sparing even so-called well paid employees of South East Central Railways under Nagpur division. There are believed to be thousands of employees who are under trap of money lenders who too are more than 200. The borrower employees are under debts of illegal Sahukars (money lenders) who lend them money at 15% rate of interest. Though it is all illegal, yet it is going on broadly under the nose of railway administration. Even DRM office employees are affected by Sahukari debts. The Sahukari business is done by certain railway staffers only who are financially sound, but it is illegal and they are not supposed to run money lending business as per railway service rules. The RPF jawans are allegedly protecting such money lenders.
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In other words, every tenth employee of railway is trapped under Sahukari debts, perhaps due to their various personal habits and addictions. The plight of certain borrowers is such that they are hardly able to draw their monthly salaries, for years together.
The money lenders have fixed their priorities of lending. They lend money on high rate of interest to drunkards and middle aged woman employees. They avoid lending money to young woman employees because of difficulties in taking the money back from them due to various reasons. The young women are able to draw loans from those money lenders who are interested in women, rather who are womanizers.
While the rate of interest is 15%, the money lenders lend money seeing that status of the borrowers. The money lenders also keep borrower’s ATM card and cheque book in their possession. When the date of recovery of debt reaches, the borrower is made to draw money from ATM and the balance of money is returned to borrower after deducting the installment of loan.
Many money lenders utilize the GRP jawans in terms of recovering their debts where it becomes difficult. They liberally use mobile phones to pressurize the borrowers. Even senior officials and employees, working in headquarters, are involved in this kind of illegal transactions. A driver of a senior officer in railway administration possesses two flats and a lot of money because money lending spree. He is reported to circulating Rs 3 crore in money lending affairs.
According to a Sahukar, the main money lender, Shrivastava, residing near GMC, provides borrowing of money at 2% monthly rate of interest to all staffers from railways to WCL through his large network of money lenders who in turn charge higher rate of interest from extended borrowing, as per their will. Shrivastava has a network of many small and big money lenders of his in railways and WCL.
It is self evident, if the money lenders are more than 200, the borrowers are bound to be in thousands. It is surprising why the railway administration is not able to save its employees from exploitation by money lenders. If the railway employees including certain officials do this kind of work, they are violating the code of conduct while in service and they deserve disciplinary action and termination.
Moreover they are paid for their railway works, but invest their official timings for private usury, which again is against official as well as moral duty. Moreover, a debt-ridden employee cannot do his duty carefully and sincerely.
