Around 35 lodge plaint in call money scandal

Vijayawada: After Vijayawada, a call money scandal has come to light in Eluru. A person identified as Medapati Sudhakar Reddy from Eluru allegedly exploited vulnerable people by taking advantage of their financial needs. With support from local political leaders, he engaged in illegal money lending practices that trapped victims in severe debt.Eluru DSP Shravan Kumar told TOI that around 35 victims lodged complaint at the Spandana programme (A one-stop public grievance redressal platform) against Sudhakar Reddy. They alleged that Sudhakar Reddy used to lend money at 2 per cent interest rate initially but demanded blank promissory notes and numerous signed cheques as security. His tactics were ruthless, they said and added that if borrowers delayed payments by even an hour, they were forced to pay compound interest. In cases where repayments were delayed by a week, they owed massive sum.Victims accused Sudhakar Reddy and his associates of resorting to threats and intimidation, including visiting their home late at night and behaving inappropriately, even with women. Several victims said that they had to sell or mortgage their gold to repay loans.Speaking to the police, one of the victims shared their ordeal. "We sold all our gold and belongings to repay the loan, but they behaved indecently when they came to our house. Even after complaining to the police, no action was taken. We had to move to a different area out of fear. Now they are using the promissory notes and cheques to drag us to court. We are pleading for action against Sudhakar Reddy," the victim said.