Every few days, 58-year-old Chhutharu Miya and his wife, 57-year-old Sadina Khatun, travel to the District Administration Office in Saptari carrying a thick file of documents that they hope will finally bring them justice.

For the past three years, the couple from Kathauna, ward 6 of Shambhunath Municipality, have been moving between the district administration office and the police in a bid to reclaim land they say was seized through Nepal’s predatory lending system.

Despite repeated hearings, official letters and negotiations, they say they are still no closer to getting their property back.

“We have spent three years running from one office to another seeking justice,” Chhutharu said on Friday. “We still have no idea when, or even whether, we will get our land back. Even when we stay home, the fear of losing our land never leaves us.”

The couple often spend hours at the district administration office simply hoping someone will listen to their case.

“I come here thinking maybe someone will understand the plight of poor people and help us,” he said. “We heard the government has reached an agreement with the victims. We still hope justice will come.”

Chhutharu was among hundreds of victims who joined a protest march from Janakpur to Kathmandu on July 9, demanding action against predatory moneylenders. He returned home late on Thursday after protest leaders agreed that only a small delegation would continue to the capital following talks with Home Minister Sudan Gurung in Nijgadh.

But returning home has brought little relief.

“I still cannot sleep because I keep worrying about our land,” he said.

The family's troubles began on January 22, 2015, when they borrowed Rs200,000 from fellow villager Gopal Sah to send their son abroad for work. Although the loan was for Rs200,000, they were required to sign a promissory note worth Rs300,000 and transfer ownership of four-and-a-half kathhas (1,523.84 square meters) of land into the name of Sah’s wife, Pabitri Devi Sah, as collateral.

When their son failed to earn enough overseas, Chhutharu decided to open a tailoring shop in Kathauna Bazaar to repay the debt. To finance the business, he borrowed another Rs280,000 from Gopal Sah’s son, Jaya Prakash Sah, on September 23, 2019.

As security for the second loan, the family transferred ownership of another 10.5 kathhas (3,555.63 square meters) of land into the name of Jaya Prakash’s wife, Manju Sah.

Over the following years, Chhutharu says the family repaid both loans through instalments using money earned from their son abroad and income from the tailoring business.

According to documents he says he possesses, by December 15, 2018, the amount due on the first loan, including interest, had reached Rs556,570. He says he paid Rs525,169, leaving only Rs31,401 outstanding, yet the pledged land was never returned.

He also says he has receipts proving he paid Rs500,000 towards the second loan.

“In total, we borrowed Rs480,000 from the father and son,” he said. “Including principal and interest, we have already paid nearly Rs1.6 million. Even then, they refused to return our land.”

Unable to recover the property, the couple approached the police in 2022. When the government later launched a nationwide drive to register complaints from victims of usurious lending, they formally filed their case on May 7, 2023.

“Officials have issued letters dozens of times and held several rounds of discussions,” Chhutharu said. “But money and influence always seem to outweigh our evidence.”

He insists the transactions were loans, not land sales.

According to him, his family continued cultivating both plots until 2021, something he says everyone in the village knows.

“Now they claim they bought the land outright,” he said. “If that were true, why did we continue farming it for years?”

He also alleges that both plots have since been sold to third parties.

“We have been cheated,” he said. “The stress became so overwhelming that I had to shut down my tailoring business. Now our lives revolve around seeking justice.”

Their case reflects the struggles of thousands of alleged victims across Saptari district.

According to the District Administration Office, 3,666 complaints were registered in three phases between mid-April 2023 and mid-July 2026.

Of those, only 786 have been settled through mediation, while agreements have been reached in another 141 cases but are yet to be formally concluded.

Assistant Chief District Officer Naresh Kumar Yadav said the mediation process has helped victims recover Rs116.1 million in cash and more than 50 bighas and eight kathhas (34.13 hectares) of land. Promissory notes worth Rs157.9 million have also been returned.

He added that criminal cases involving fraudulent transactions, cheating and criminal breach of trust have been filed in 38 disputes where mediation failed.

Jaya Prakash Sah, however, rejected the allegations.

“This was never a loan transaction,” he said. “We purchased the land and paid for it. We have been falsely accused of being usurers.”

He also denied Chhutharu’s claim that the family had fully repaid the loans.