Alipurduar: A shocking incident has come to light from the Thanupara area under Bhatibari Gram Panchayat, falling under the jurisdiction of Samuktala Police Station in Alipurduar district. Four members of a family were allegedly abducted from their home and tied up with ropes used for tying up cows after failing to pay interest on a personal loan.
According to police sources, the victims—Arun Debnath, his wife Parbati and their sons Abhijit and Surjit—were forcibly taken from their residence on Wednesday and taken to the home of the accused, Dilip Roy. The family was allegedly tied in the courtyard for nearly three hours and reportedly subjected to physical assault by Roy’s family members, including women.
The matter came to light when locals informed the police. A team from the Bhatibari outpost promptly reached the spot and rescued the victims. However, the accused fled the scene upon seeing the police. One person, identified as Birulal Roy, was detained for questioning in connection with the incident.
The dispute reportedly stems from a loan of Rs 1.10 lakh that Arun Debnath had taken from Dilip Roy, mortgaging the deed of his house to fund his wife’s eye surgery. According to the victim’s son, Abhijit Debnath, the amount was borrowed in parts—Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 at a time—with a steep monthly interest rate of 20 per cent.
“We never denied repaying the loan,” Abhijit said. “But due to financial hardship, we couldn’t pay the interest for the past few months. Once our situation improves, we’ll return every rupee.”
District Superintendent of Police Y Raghuvamshi confirmed the rescue operation. “As soon as we received the information, our team reached the spot and rescued all four victims. One person has been arrested and efforts are underway to trace two more individuals involved in the incident,” he stated.