The inquiry commission formed by the government to probe the issues of loan shark victims is preparing the necessary paperwork to start the field study. A Cabinet meeting on April 3 had formed the commission under the leadership of the former Chairman of the Special Court, Gauri Bahadur Karki. Former Assistant Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Bahadur Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal are the other members of the commission. The cabinet meeting also decided to establish the office of the high-level commission in Janakpur, the capital of Madhesh Province, as it will be easier for the victims to share their problems. Most of the loan shark victims are from districts of the Terai region. “We are preparing the complaint form to be filled by the loan shark victims,” said a member of the commission. “We will soon open the office in Janakpur and start receiving complaints.” The commission member also said that during the investigation, the money lenders would also be given the right to provide their explanations regarding the complaints of the victims. “In order to take complaints, we also have plans to open complaint desks in different districts as well,” the member said.

The commission has been given a three-month deadline to prepare a concrete and practical report and recommend solutions to resolve the problems of loan shark victims.

The government’s decision came two days after it reached a five-point agreement with a group of loan shark victims on April 1. The two sides also reached an agreement to expedite the process to amend the laws to criminalize unscrupulous lending. They also agreed to recommend to the government the formation of a district-level coordination/facilitation committee led by the chief district officer to address complaints related to loan sharking. A senior official of the Home Ministry said that the Law Ministry is drafting an amendment law that would criminalize loan sharking, a promise that the government made to the agitators. Currently, loan sharking is essentially categorized as an offense under the civil code. In this condition, the victims have to fight the deep-pocketed loan sharks alone. However, the acts of blackmailing, extortion, and other exploitations in the guise of loan sharking fall under criminal offenses. A report prepared by a task force formed by the government last year after a similar agitation launched by loan shark victims pointed out how the case filed by the loan sharks against the borrowers put the borrowers at a disadvantage. According to the report, loan sharks tend to file court cases based on the documents borrowers signed on terms dictated by loan sharks. As the loan sharks seek to recover the loans legally, the victims are often denied access to the court process. Even though the state has guaranteed people’s access to legal services for free by introducing a law, the loan shark victims are unaware of such provisions, according to the report. While a group of the loan shark victims returned home after signing an agreement, another group of victims hit the streets of Kathmandu. The government is negotiating with them too to address their demands.