Arjun Phuyal, 61, of Chandrapur Municipality-4, used to run a grocery shop at Chandranigahapur Chowk. The shop was always crowded with customers, and his income was steady. While everything was going well, he befriended a neighbouring cloth merchant, Rambabu Sah Kalwar. Their friendship flourished, and the two agreed to purchase land together.

In 2009, Phuyal bought 10.5 kattha (0.359 hectares) of land in Chandrapur-5 by borrowing Rs2 million from Kalwar and adding Rs1 million of his own investment.

One plot was kept in Phuyal’s name, while the remaining two were registered under Kalwar’s name. Later, by mutual agreement, plots numbered 2027 and 1028 were also transferred to Kalwar. As time passed, Kalwar, intending to buy land elsewhere, transferred the two plots originally in Phuyal’s name to himself in 2011. As per their agreement, Kalwar was supposed to provide Phuyal with funds to purchase land elsewhere. However, he failed to do so.

Kalwar did not return Phuyal’s Rs1 million either. Instead, Phuyal was left stunned when Kalwar filed a lawsuit against him on January 24, 2024, alleging that Phuyal had robbed him of cash and gold. On April 13, 2024, the district court ruled that the robbery charges brought by Kalwar lacked sufficient evidence.

After the agreement to buy and sell land, Phuyal had placed all three plots in Kalwar’s name out of trust. Now, seeing his years of earnings go to waste, he is in deep mental and financial distress.

The money handed over to Kalwar for the land purchase was neither returned nor was the land restored. With his hard-earned savings effectively in someone else’s possession, Phuyal has grown exhausted from visiting various agencies in search of justice. He has been seeking a resolution for the past ten years following the betrayal.

“Even after a decade, neither has the land been transferred to my name, nor has the money been returned,” he said. “I have been pushed to the streets—where should I go for justice? I invested all my assets in this land; now I am left with nothing.”

Feeling cheated, Phuyal has appealed to the local administration and people’s representatives. In 2023, the judicial committee of Chandrapur Municipality summoned Kalwar and directed him to return the land to Phuyal. However, Kalwar has continued to insist that he has no financial dealings with him.

“Kalwar would lend money to many people and make them sign cheques and promissory notes,” Phuyal said. “He would collect the principal and interest in cash but would not return the cheques. He would then use those cheques to blacklist them at the bank and file lawsuits.”

Police arrested Kalwar on charges of predatory lending and presented him before the court a week ago. He was released on bail of Rs 50,000.

Narayan Ghimire of Chandrapur-4 had also borrowed Rs500,000 at interest from Kalwar. However, despite repaying Rs2.7 million, including interest, over several instalments, Kalwar filed a court case against him by filling in Rs2.3 million on a blank security cheque dated November 24, 2019.

Ghimire, who claims to be a victim, has been appealing to the police and administration for justice. He said Kalwar had taken a blank cheque as security for the Rs500,000 loan and later filled in a large amount to file the case.

“We approached the police, saying we had been wronged, but Kalwar sued us in court instead,” he said.

Phuyal and Ghimire are not alone. Around 7,000 residents across the district have filed complaints regarding loan sharking at the District Administration Office in Gaur, claiming they have been victimised by moneylenders.

Rambabu Mahato of Brindaban Municipality-2 also shared that he had a longstanding relationship with Kalwar. In 2017, Mahato borrowed Rs500,000 from Kalwar at a monthly interest rate of 6 percent. In exchange, Kalwar made him sign a promissory note worth Rs2 million—four times the borrowed amount.

Mahato repaid the amount along with Rs140,000 in interest within nearly four months. Bank statements show that he subsequently repaid a total of Rs1.6 million borrowed at different times. Most recently, in 2018, Mahato borrowed Rs2.4 million. In return, he provided five blank cheques as security, while Kalwar retained the earlier Rs2 million promissory note.

Transactions between the two continued. Within a span of two years, Mahato said he paid Rs5.4 million in principal and interest. However, after Kalwar refused to return the cheques and promissory notes, Mahato approached the police.

Phuyal, Mahato and Ghimire filed complaints of predatory lending with the administration a year ago.

“On one hand, there is 72 percent interest; on the other, Kalwar is skilled at seizing promissory notes and cheques,” Mahato said. “He has pushed us to the streets. There must be accountability.”

A complaint regarding dual citizenship has also been lodged against Kalwar. The District Administration Office said the matter is under investigation.

Although the government has criminalised loan sharking by amending the law, victims who have filed complaints with the District Administration Office and the police say they are frustrated at not receiving the expected justice. Victims claim that when they go to file complaints, the administration often pressures them to reach settlements.

Mahato alleges that loan sharks with access to administrative bodies receive political protection and influence officials through financial inducements, leaving genuine victims in the shadows. They further state that, in many instances, court verdicts have caused additional hardship.

According to the victims, when courts base their rulings primarily on documents allegedly manipulated by moneylenders in advance, victims end up losing their ancestral property. Finding all avenues for justice closed, loan shark victims had travelled to Kathmandu and staged sit-ins on multiple occasions.