Bankers threaten Vanta-Varpu to recover loan from woman

The incident surfaced on Sunday when a video capturing the officials threatening Guguloth Lakshmi was widely shared on social media.

Lakshmi had taken a loan of Rs 61,000 from Telangana Grameena Bank a few months ago but failed to repay the installments due to financial difficulties. After issuing several notices without receiving any response from Lakshmi, bank manager Srinivas, accompanied by IKP official Venkat Reddy, C.C. Somnarayana, and others, visited her residence. They threatened to conduct a ‘Vanta-Varpu’ programme in front of her house as part of their efforts to recover the loan.

The incident has sparked serious concerns regarding the aggressive and inappropriate methods used by bank officials for debt collection. Local residents have demanded strict legal action against those involved to prevent such intimidation tactics in the future.

Former village sarpanch Kokya Naik, speaking to Deccan Chronicle, condemned the officials' actions, stating, “Without informing the village elders, the officials came to our village and tried to pressure Lakshmi into repaying the loan. They even threatened to cook food in front of her house to shame her for not repaying, which is unacceptable.”

“Her intention was not to evade repayment, but the officials did not give her any time and forced her to pay immediately. We are going to lodge a complaint at the police station against the officials who harassed Lakshmi,” he added.

In response, sub-inspector of police U. Srujan told Deccan Chronicle that the police were unaware of the specific incident involving the threats against Lakshmi. “If we receive a complaint from the victim, we will definitely register a case against the concerned officials,” he assured.