A mother and daughter died five days apart in Dhaka’s Dohar, with family members alleging that relentless pressure and intimidation over an unpaid NGO loan pushed them into severe mental distress, prompting authorities to order post-mortem examinations and consider an investigation into the allegations.
Lovely Akhter died on June 24 after falling ill, while her mother, Rehana Begum, died on June 29 night, days after the family says loan recovery officials visited their home.
Police said the exact causes of the deaths will be determined after autopsy reports are received.
According to family members and local residents, Lovely had borrowed Tk3 lakh about a year ago from the Batia branch of an NGO, Rural Construction Newnation, to send her son to Saudi Arabia for work.
However, after her son reportedly failed to send money home, she was unable to keep up with loan repayments.
Relatives alleged that NGO officials repeatedly pressured Lovely to clear the overdue instalments. Unable to repay the loan, she reportedly left her home and moved to her mother’s house in Nagerkanda.
Family members claimed the pressure continued there.
They alleged that an NGO official threatened to hand Lovely over to police if the loan remained unpaid.
Later that day, she fell ill and was taken to hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Within days of Lovely’s death, family members alleged that loan recovery officials again visited the house, this time asking her mother about the outstanding loan and demanding documents related to Lovely’s death.
Nurul Illam, Rehana Begum’s son and Lovely’s brother, claimed his mother became frightened after being threatened and collapsed on the stairs of the house before being taken to Dohar Upazila Health Complex, where she was pronounced dead.
“My mother knew nothing about the loan. They came to our house, mistreated her and threatened police action. Both my sister and mother became ill after they could not bear the pressure. I want justice,” he said.
The deaths have sparked outrage among local residents.
Rais Laskar, a resident of Nagerkanda, described the deaths as tragic and urged the government to investigate allegations of excessive pressure during loan recovery.
Police recovered both bodies and sent them for autopsy.
Dohar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abubakar Siddique said legal action would depend on the findings of the investigation and post-mortem reports.
The NGO denied allegations that it had pressured the family for repayment.
Anwar Zahid, manager of Rural Construction Newnation’s Batia branch, said Lovely had defaulted on her loan about six months ago and the organisation had made repeated attempts to recover the money.
“After Lovely died, we went to her mother’s house only to obtain her death certificate so that the loan could be waived. We did not pressure her for repayment,” he told media.
Dohar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Maidul Islam said the administration would investigate the matter if the family submitted a written complaint and take action if any wrongdoing is found.