Farmer beaten to death over outstanding loan of Rs 5,000 in UP's Muzaffarnagar

Agra: A farmer died after he was forcibly picked up from his agriculture field by a moneylender and was brutally beaten up over an "outstanding" loan of Rs 5,000. The incident happened in a village in Muzaffarnagar district on Saturday evening.
The victim, identified as Chauni Ram alias Mahakchand (50) of Kakda village under Jansath police station area, had borrowed Rs 30,000 from moneylender Sudhir Singh to fund his daughter's wedding.Though he had already paid back Rs 45,000 with interest, the moneylender was demanding an additional Rs 5,000 from the poor farmer.
A case has been registered against four accused, including Sudhir Singh and his son Lucky, along with two of Sudhir's associates, under sections 302 (murder) and 364 (kidnapping), said Dharmender Yadava, SHO of Sikheda police station.
On Saturday evening when Chauni Ram was busy peeling sugarcane in a field near Nagla Mubarik village, where the accused moneylender resides, he was picked up by Sudhir Singh and his associates and was taken to the moneylender's premises, where he was allegedly locked up and brutally thrashed.
Chauni Ram suffered grievous injuries and was later rushed to the nearby Community Health Center (CHC) by his family members after being informed by Sudhir. Chauni Ram later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Enraged villagers soon staged a protest and blocked the road for a brief period demanding the immediate arrest of the accused moneylender. The situation was pacified by officials who assured the villagers of "strong action" in the matter. "The entire matter is being investigated and appropriate action will be taken," said superintendent of police (SP) Satayanarayan Parjapat.