Chandrapur: Leader of Congress Legislature Party in Maharashtra, Vijay Wadettiwar, on Wednesday demanded that the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) be invoked against those allegedly involved in a case in which a debt-ridden farmer, Roshan Kule from Minthur village in Chandrapur district’s Nagbhid taluka, was driven to sell his kidney. He also sought immediate ₹10 lakh financial assistance for the victim’s family from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.Raising the issue in the State Assembly through a calling attention motion, Wadettiwar alleged that illegal moneylending practices had pushed the farmer into extreme distress. According to him, Kule had borrowed ₹1 lakh but was allegedly forced to repay as much as ₹74 lakh with mounting interest and coercive recoveries. Despite losing his tractor and agricultural land, the debt reportedly remained unsettled.
Wadettiwar claimed the farmer was lured abroad with the promise of employment at a data centre and he personally intervened to facilitate the farmer’s return to India. Later the farmer fell prey to moneylending racket and eventually lost his kidney as part of an organised organ trade network.The Congress leader alleged that the racket has links extending to Delhi and parts of southern India. He claimed that a Delhi-based doctor, who is a Padma Shri nominee, is allegedly connected to the network, and questioned whether the govt would take action irrespective of stature or influence.Calling the case an organised crime, Wadettiwar urged the govt to invoke MCOCA against key conspirators and moneylenders.Responding in the House, the minister of state for home Pankaj Bhoyar assured of appropriate legal action against the guilty and said the govt would consider strengthening existing laws to curb such offences.Wadettiwar said Kule, the sole earning member of his family, has suffered permanent physical and financial damage. He urged swift govt intervention to prevent similar cases and to support the affected family in rebuilding their lives.
