Mangaluru: In a disturbing case of alleged harassment during loan recovery, an FIR has been registered against an official of the Polali Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society for reportedly intimidating a 72-year-old woman who was not a borrower, at her residence in Dakshina Kannada district.
The case was registered at the Bantwal Rural Police Station on Wednesday after Padmavathy, a resident of Kariyamgal village, alleged that society officials trespassed into her house and threatened to seize the property over a loan taken by her son.
According to the complaint, four men arrived at her house in an autorickshaw, claiming to be officials of the Cooperative Department. They allegedly told the elderly woman that her son had defaulted on a loan and demanded immediate repayment. When she contacted her son in Bengaluru and handed over the phone, the officials reportedly claimed they possessed a General Power of Attorney (GPA) linked to the loan.
The complainant alleged that she was not allowed to explain her position and that the officials began measuring the property, stating that the house would be confiscated. Alarmed neighbours rushed to the spot, following which the officials fled, she stated in her complaint.
Police sources said the FIR includes charges related to criminal trespass, intimidation and common intention.
The loan in question — amounting to around ₹2.25 lakh — was reportedly sanctioned in 2017 to the complainant’s son. Activists allege that the cooperative society later attempted to project the personal loan as a mortgage-backed loan using a disputed and allegedly unregistered GPA.
Documents accessed by complainants reportedly show that the land cited as collateral is neither in the borrower’s name nor mortgaged to the society, with all original records still in the possession of the actual owner. A recent order by the Mangaluru Assistant Commissioner’s court is said to have gone against the society in the matter.
Citizen Rights Foundation (CRF) has strongly condemned the incident and demanded a CID probe into the functioning of the cooperative society over the past decade. CRF president K.A. Paul said that with the Cooperative Department currently under the charge of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, responsibility must be fixed and strict action taken against officials misusing their authority.