Police on Sunday evening arrested three people on the charge of usury.

Those arrested are Manoj Kumar Das of Rajbiraj-6, Shiva Narayan Yadav of Rajbiraj-5 and Tarini Prasad Sah of Rajbiraj-3, said Superintendent of Police Narendra Kumar Karki, chief of Saptari District Police Office.

Das has been accused of lending money in Rajbiraj and nearby areas at high interest rates.

As many as five people had lodged complaints with the police, said Karki.

Police said they are further investigating.

A recently-introduced ordinance criminalised loan sharking. It defines loan sharking activities and specifies penalties for the perpetrators.

The ordinance also provisions jail terms for loan sharks up to seven years along with fines as high as Rs70,000.

As per the ordinance, if a loan shark has confiscated cash or property of the borrower, equivalent cash or property should be returned to the borrower.

“If it is proved that the ownership of fixed assets of the borrower has been transferred in the name of a person nominated by the loan shark, such transfer becomes null and void,” says the ordinance.

The ordinance has also amended the National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act-2017 to provision prosecution of loan sharks under the anti-money laundering law.