THRISSUR: AN 86-year-old plantain farmer, of Marottichal, who had taken loans from two banks and found himself under pressure to pay dues of Rs 12,000 after he suffered a major loss of crops following back-to-back floods, has committed suicide by consuming poison.
T D Ouseph has been cultivating crops for years by taking land on lease. Ouseph suffered loss in the floods and the two banks, from which he had taken loans, sent notices demanding repayment of dues, following which he took the extreme step, said his son Joby.
“A loan of Rs 75,000 loan was taken from Bank of India and Rs 50,000 from Malabar Gramin Bank. BOI sent a notice demanding around Rs 12,000 which was due and later called my father to its office and set December 12 as the deadline to pay it,” said Joby, with whom Ouseph has been staying.
On December 13, Ouseph consumed poison along with alcohol. Neighbours and family members rushed him to the hospital, where Ouseph had been battling for life before breathing his last on Tuesday.
“I don’t know whom my father had met at the bank, but the way they conveyed the message should have unnerved him, forcing him to end his life,” he said.
The family said Ouseph had incurred a loss of around Rs 30,000 in the heavy rain this year as he had started cultivation of plantains already. Chief Whip and Ollur MLA K Rajan visited his house and assured his family members of all support from the government’s side.
Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar hit out at the bank authorities. “The banks should stop such kind of behaviour that puts farmers under pressure. They won’t do it to other big businesses which default on repayment. A direction to not issue notices to farmers is still valid as post-flood moratorium exists, but some banks aren’t following it. The state government will definitely probe the case,” said Sunil Kumar.
District Collector S Shanavas visited the family and also directed the banks to write off Ouseph’s loans.
BOI said it never initiated any procedure under SARFAESI Act.
“It’s Kisan Credit Card loan. When Ouseph, after affected by the flood, informed that he was not able to repay the loan, our branch restructured his account on November 30, 2018, and a 12-month moratorium was given. After the moratorium expired, Ouseph ran up an overdue of Rs 12,081.76,” said BOI zonal manager V Mahesh Kumar.Ollur police registered a case on Monday for unnatural death and initiated a probe.
Loans of L75,000 and L50,000 were taken by T D Ouseph from Bank of India and Malabar Gramin Bank, respectively
He suffered L30,000 loss due to flood
BOI demanded him to pay L12,081
which was due
December 12 was set as the deadline