Coimbatore: Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, different sections of the society have been grappling under financial crisis in different ways. But, one of the common issue faced by all people is rent payment.
Coimbatore: Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, different sections of the society have been grappling under financial crisis in different ways. But, one of the common issue faced by all people is rent payment.
Pitiful voices praying to landlords to grant them more time to pay rents is the scene amid the low-wage earners, street hawkers and bakeries who had to shut their operations completely for few months, starting from March due to lockdown announcements.
Distressed on a similar issue, a couple on Thursday resorted to the Coimbatore Police Commissioner's office to complaint against their landlord whom they alleged to be acting violently by damaging their shop and even threatening them to pay their pending rent.
According to the complainant, Nagaraj and his wife are residents of Madukkarai area. They had rented a space for Rs. 25,000 near the Gandhi Nagar Bus stop in Sundarapuram on the Pollachi main road to run a bakery.
"Due to the unprecedented COVID-19 lockdown, we were unable to open the bakery for the past four months. Our livelihood was badly affected and we were unable to meet our financial commitments, including rent. However, the property's landlord Shanmugasundararaj has been insisting on the payment of rent. Following this, we borrowed Rs.38,000 during the lockdown and paid the rent, in parts", told Nagaraj's wife.
She further added that the land owner, his wife and son Vignesh Prabhu had been continuously insisting on payment of rent arrears. When Nagaraj requested for two months time, they refused, she told. Further, they used abusive language against the employees of the bakery and interrupted their work, she alleged.
Unable to withstand their pressure any further, the couple had reportedly filed a complaint against the issue at Podanur police station, on August 20. Meanwhile, on August 29 at 8:30 PM, Nagaraj has alleged that while he along with his wife and Hariharan, his employee were cleaning up the shop, the landlord Shanmugasundararaj, his wife and son barged into the shop and allegedly attacked Nagaraj with weapons such as crowbars and also proceeded to damage the shop.
He alleged that they also took Rs.7,342 cash and few empty cheque leaves and left the scene. Yet again, a complaint was filed at the Podanur Police station and all of the concerned parties were called to the police station for an enquiry.
Nagaraj had then requested the police to retrieve the cash Rs.7,342 and the empty cheque leaves which he fears could be misused. The police, then reportedly had asked him to collect the cash and cheque on Tuesday. Nagaraj told in his complaint that when he returned to the police station to collect the cash and cheques, the Police had asked him to come another day.
Upset over the delay in initiating action against the landlord, Nagaraj and his wife petitioned at the Coimbatore Police Commissioner's office on Thursday and requested legal action against the landlord and his family members, for assaulting them and damaging the shop.
The couple also demanded for a compensation of Rs.2,85,000 from the landlord for the damages caused by him.