Chit fund agent commits suicide in Tripura

Laxman Singha, 42, an agent of a non-banking financial company (NBFC), committed suicide in Tripura following pressure from depositors, police said Wednesday.

"Laxman Singha committed suicide Tuesday night after prolonged depression. Depositors of chit funds (as NBFCs are known locally) had been seeking the return of the money they deposited with the company," a police spokesman told reporters.

The incident occurred in southern Tripura's Tepania village, 60 km south of the state capital.

This is the first time an agent of a NBFC has committed suicide in the state after "chit fund" groups have begun to be probed, in the wake of the April 2013 busting of the Saradha Ponzi scheme in West Bengal.

The deceased agent is survived by his wife, a 12-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

Following a request from the Tripura government in the wake of the unfolding of the Saradha scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation started a probe into the activities of the NBFCs in the northeastern state.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had earlier asserted that his government was determined to stop illegal operations of chit funds.

Sarkar, in a written reply to a question in the state assembly recently, said that 27 NBFCs have already shut down their offices in Tripura after collecting Rs.23.16 crore from people, and 90 such organisations are still working in the state.

The Tripura government has asked the NBFCs not to collect deposits from the people and to make due payments to depositors by July 31.

Raids by police and district administration officials are being conducted at the offices of NBFCs across Tripura for the past several months. Many documents and properties have been seized.