Pune Builder Dies by Suicide Amid Financial Disputes, Case Filed Against Business Partners

Dhayari, 9th October 2024: A builder died by suicide in Pune’s Dhayari area following financial disputes related to a housing development project. A case has been registered against his business partner and the partner’s two sons. The deceased had taken a loan from the accused and had repaid most of it; however, the accused allegedly began harassing him for the remaining money and caused disruptions to his housing development project.

The deceased builder has been identified as Kishore Manohar Bettigiri (52, resident of Dhayari). His wife, Savita (48), filed a complaint at the Sinhagad Road Police Station. A case for abetment of suicide has been registered against Surendra Baburao Laygude and his two sons, Sangram and Sagar (all residents of Dhayari).

According to police reports, the Bettigiri family, originally from Karnataka, had settled in Pune’s Dhayari area for the past few years. Bettigiri and Surendra Laygude started a construction business together and built the Rajveer Avenue Housing Society. Sangram Laygude and his brother Sagar paid Rs 91 lakh to Bettigiri through Swati Consultancy, of which Bettigiri returned Rs 80 lakh.

After that, Surendra Laygude halted work on the housing project two to three times following disputes over the remaining money. Sangram and Sagar also took over two commercial shops in the housing project. Laygude allegedly threatened the deceased, saying that if he could not pay the remaining money, he would die. Since then, Bettigiri had been depressed. In her complaint, Bettigiri’s wife, Savita, stated that he died by hanging himself. The note written by Bettigiri before his suicide has been taken by the police, and Police Sub-Inspector Shrikant Sawant from Sinhagad Road Police Station is investigating the matter further.