Janakpurdham, July 21 -- Hundreds of victims of usurious lending, locally known as meter byaj, are still waiting for justice in Dhanusha, where over 15,000 complaints lie unresolved, gathering dust in government offices.

Inside the first-floor office of the District Administration Office (DAO) in Dhanusha, a room adjacent to the staircase is stacked with over 300 files on the table. In the corner, documents packed in white cloth bundles lie unattended. These bundles, officials confirm, contain more than 15,000 cases of loan-sharking-complaints that have never moved beyond the paperwork stage.

According to Sagar Rayamajhi, a police officer, a total of 16,754 complaints regarding illegal money lending have been filed so far, but only 1,07...