KOCHI: The mystery surrounding the tragic deaths of four family members in Kadamakudy appears to be deepening, with the police now suggesting that factors beyond alleged harassment by an online lending company may have contributed to the incident. The Ernakulam rural police have filed three FIRs related to the deaths, and a comprehensive investigation is going on.
“A special investigation team has been formed to look into this case. On the day of the incident, the family received an SMS, which is also a subject of investigation,” Rural SP Vivek Kumar said. He said the involvement of the loan app alone could not be conclusively linked to the incident, and the process of gathering evidence is in progress.
Initially, reports indicated that the family had taken this extreme step due to the financial strain of their plans to relocate abroad. On September 12, Nijo Johny, 39, his wife Shilpa, 32, and their two children, Ebel, 7, and Aron, 5, were found dead at their home in a suspected case of suicide.
The police received crucial information suggesting that the lending company had harassed the family by sending manipulated images of Shilpa to their relatives. The investigation uncovered that Shilpa had borrowed money from an online lending company to cover family expenses and fund her planned move to Italy for employment.
Every month, Rs 9,300 was debited from her bank account as loan repayment. However, she missed some payments, leading to the sending of manipulated photos and threatening phone calls from the firm, according to police sources.
Nijo and Shilpa had been married for a decade and initially resided in the family home. However, after Nijo’s brother Tijo got married, they both moved to the upper floor. A loan was taken for the renovation of the upper floor, and Shilpa sold her gold and took a loan to pursue her 2018 plans to work in Italy, paying over Rs 5 lakh to a recruiting agency in Kodungallur. Unfortunately, their plans were disrupted by the Covid pandemic, leading to significant financial difficulties.
The brother’s statement to the police indicated that they had a debt of only Rs 5 lakh. Previously, a suicide note was discovered in the house, but it did not mention the loan app firms or provide any explanation for their drastic actions. The police are awaiting the results of a cyber forensic examination of the victims’ mobile phones before drawing any conclusions about the incident.