Ex-cop among two held on charges of usury

Madurai: The Madurai district police have booked three people and arrested two of them including a retired deputy superintendent of police on the charges of collecting exorbitant loan interest from a retired professor of Madurai Kamaraj University.
The two arrested people were identified as M Petchipandian, 64, from Pandarakulam in Tirunelveli and retired DSP Subramanian, 67, from NGO Colony in Nagamalai Pudukottai in Madurai district.Petchpandian’s wife Eniyammal has also been booked.
The case was booked by district crime branch police based on the complaint from G Arumugam from NGO Colony, whose wife is a doctor.
A police officer, who carried out an inquiry, said that the couple was in need of Rs 2 crore to invest in a business. When they approached Subramanian, who the couple knew, he introduced them to Petchipandian, who is his relative.They entered into an agreement in the year 2016 with stipulation that the borrower will pay interest at 36% per annum. The couple was promptly repaying the loan amount. However, the dispute arose last year when a final settlement of Rs 70 lakh was being paid by the couple, said the officer. Instead of Rs 70 lakh, the accused demanded Rs 1.5 crore. When the couple refused to pay the hefty amount, the accused started threatening them. They also verbally abused the couple. The couple approached the district police a few days back. After a preliminary inquiry, a case was registered on Tuesday and the accused were arrested on the same day.
Apart from the sections under the exorbitant interest Act, the trio were also booked under IPC sections including 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420- cheating and 506 (i)- threatening with dire consequences.