Calcutta, May10: A 45-year-old man hanged himself at his home today after being humiliated before his children by police because he had failed to pay Rs 1,000 to his debtor.

Mofizul Haque was confined in a room at Watgunge police station for an hour and abused and threatened in the filthiest of language, his daughter Nilofar Begum said.

The CMC health department employee, already shattered after being shoved into a police jeep before his neighbours, returned to his Watgunge Street home, locked himself in, and put a rope round his neck.

“My father had borrowed Rs 5,000 from a colleague who charged him a hefty interest. For the past two years, he had been paying back Rs 500 every month,” said Nilofar, who is in her mid-20s.

“But he failed to pay the last two months’ instalments because I fell ill and he had to pay for my treatment.”

This means Haque would have already paid the lender about Rs 11,000 — more than twice the amount he had borrowed. Sources said many government employees — almost one in every office — run a money-lending business on the side, charging colleagues oppressive interests, even 10 per cent a day.

On Monday, Haque’s colleague arrived at his home and abused him for missing the monthly instalments, Nilofar said.

“He came again on Thursday and insulted my mother, too. On Friday, he came for the third time and this time my brother Reazul wasn’t spared, either.”

Around 2.30pm today, the man turned up with two policemen. “The policemen told us the colleague had lodged a complaint saying my father had tried to kill him with a knife,” Nilofar said.

“They forced him into their jeep and drove away. My brother and I rushed to the police station…. I saw them throwing the choicest obscenities at my father. When Reazul protested, they threatened him, too.”

Nilofar said the threats had nothing to do with the attempt-to-murder complaint — if it existed at all. “The policemen kept telling my father, ‘Pay him the money or else….’”

Haque returned home around 3.45. “He became unusually quiet. My mother left for the market around 5pm. No one else was at home. When she returned an hour later, he was dead,” Nilofer said.

Local people put up roadblocks and refused to let the police enter till senior officers arrived and promised to punish any policeman found responsible for Haque’s death.