Amritsar, July 24
It was a happy return of the debt-ridden missing family of Mohinder Singh Bajaj (in his late seventies), a resident of Jandiala Guru, who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances after scribbling a ‘suicide note’ on the wall of their house, 10 days ago.

The Majitha police that remained on tenterhooks since the disappearance of the family today heaved a sigh of relief when all 12 members of the family made their ‘safe return’ through a DSP of Jandiala Guru. “Good sense prevailed on the members of the family who had left for an unknown destination with a motive to commit suicide en masse”.

Ms Vibhu Raj, police chief of Majitha, said the family members who had stayed in holy shrines outside Punjab and kept changing the places of their stay had decided to approach the police after reading her (SSP’s) appeals, published in various newspapers, requesting them to return.

Another factor that desisted them from committing suicide was the solace they got in the holy places where they stayed during their disappearance.

Mr Bajaj (in his late 70s), his wife, their two sons, two daughters-in-law and six grandchildren had gone into hiding after alleged harassment and threats by loan sharks to whom they owed lakhs of rupees. They had scribbled ‘suicide notes’ with coal on the walls of their house before leaving.

The Majitha police brought them back from Jalandhar where they reached after assurances of all help by senior police officials and the administration.

Finding it difficult to pay back various loans taken from unscrupulous moneylenders and from bank they had vanished from the scene for past days, without any clue. The police had chosen a cautious approach throughout the high-level ‘disappearance drama’.

The family, in its bid to send their ward Jatinder Singh to Cyprus, had taken a loan of about Rs 9 lakh from a moneylender but the travel agent duped him which resulted in total loss. This proved to be a vicious circle for the family.

Mr Bhupinder Singh, elder son of Mr Bajaj, said the family lived in gurdwaras during their ‘self-imposed exile’. He said they first went to Delhi where they stayed in a gurdwara and then Gurdwara Nanak Mata in Shahjahanpur in Uttaranchal.

Giving reasons for fleeing from their house , he said they were being harassed by loan sharks who had threatened them to kidnap their children. He alleged some of them were pressurising to transfer the registered deeds of their house in their (moneylenders) names.

On how the hapless family fell into the debt trap, Mr Bhupinder Singh said the they initially took a loan on hefty interest rates, which cost them dearly. He, however, added that they had returned more money as interest than the principal amount.

About the alleged involvement of an MLA’s brother whose finance company had lent money to them, he said he (MLA) had nothing to do with the case.