Lender contests truck owner’s statement on number plate

New Delhi, August 3 

In a new twist to the Unnao truck collision case, the financer of the truck has now revealed that his company had never threatened the truck owner Devender Kishore Pal to seize the financed vehicle. Pal had earlier given a statement to the police that the number plate of the truck, involved in the crash with the car carrying the Unnao rape victim, her lawyer and family members, was blackened to avoid forcible seizure of the vehicle by its financer.

Pal had said he had missed a few instalments of the loan and had therefore blackened the number plate, apprehending that the vehicle would be seized anytime. He had asserted that blackening of the number plate of the truck was nowhere a part of premeditated plan to crush victim's car.

However, in a new twist, the revelations of the financer stand contrary to truck owner's earlier statement. Talking over phone from Kanpur, the manager of the Orix finance company, Shashi Kumar, said that he had never threatened Kishore regarding non-payment of instalments. 

“In fact, I met Devender, near a dhabha in Fatehpur around 25-26 June last, and requested him to pay his dues at the earliest. We had a very cordial meeting. Our company, Orix, is one of the largest finance companies …we have written legal agreements with our clients and never intend to forcibly seize any financed vehicle,” said Shashi Kumar.

On Kishore’s statement on the blackened truck’s number plate, the Orix manager said he cannot draw any inference from Pal’s statement but can assure that the company has never seized any vehicle plying on the road. — IANS