Rajkumar runs an e-rickshaw
A debt-ridden man in Uttar Pradesh has put his "son on sale" to repay the loan he had taken to buy a property. After being allegedly harassed by his moneylender, Rajkumar, a resident of Aligarh, was forced to sit at a city's bus stand with a plaque hanging around his neck that read "My son is for sale, I want to sell my son."
He sat at the Roadways bus stand intersection in Aligarh with his son, daughter, and wife for hours before police came and addressed his concerns.
Rajkumar, who runs an e-rickshaw, said he had borrowed money from a loan shark to buy a property. Rajkumar said that in order to withdraw his money, he kept the documents of his property in the bank and got the loan issued. He claimed that the person manipulated him and that he neither got the property nor any money.
He also alleged that the person who lent him money took away his e-rickshaw, his "only" means of supporting his family.
"If someone buys my son for Rs 6 lakh to 8 lakh, then at least I will be able to educate my daughter, marry her, and raise my family," he said.
He claimed that he had also gone to a police station but didn't receive any help.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that "someone should wake up the government".
"This is the 'amrit kaal' of BJP when a father is forced to sell his son. Before this picture spreads across the world and tarnishes the image of the state and the country in the entire world, someone should wake up the government," he said in a tweet in Hindi.