Loan shark arrested from Katara Hills

Bhopal: Katara Hills police on Friday claimed to have arrested a moneylender accused of extorting exorbitant sums from borrowers under threat of violence. The accused, who carried a fake pistol to intimidate his victims, was found in possession of gold jewellery worth Rs 3 lakh and signed blank cheques from multiple bank accounts. The arrest followed a formal complaint lodged a day prior. Police revealed that the suspect targeted college students as his primary victims. DCP (Zone-2) Sanjay Agarwal said the accused, Narendra Raghuvanshi, a resident of Heavens Life Colony, was lending money at high-interest rates. One of his victims, Arpit Ahirwar, 26, a resident of the same colony, stated that between Nov 2021 and Oct 2024, he borrowed a total of Rs 9.15 lakh from Raghuvanshi. Despite repaying Rs9.05 lakh via bank transfers and Rs3 lakh in cash, Raghuvanshi continued to demand an additional Rs13.23 lakh in interest.Katara Hills SHO Brijendra Nigam said according to the complaint, Raghuvanshi frequently visited Arpit's house, hurling abuses and issuing death threats while brandishing a pistol. To secure the remaining dues, he forced Arpit to sign a contract and seized gold jewellery belonging to Arpit's mother. Additionally, Raghuvanshi coerced Arpit into signing five blank cheques from his bank account and two each from his mother's and brother's accounts. A case was registered against the accused under sections related to extortion, misconduct, and the Madhya Pradesh Protection of Debtors Act. Police are continuing their investigation to determine if there are more victims of Raghuvanshi's illegal moneylending activities.
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