PALAKKAD: Lack of jobs due to Covid and consequent lockdown have claimed one more life, that of Kannankutty, 56, of Karinkulam in Pallasena. He worked as the driver of a tractor which transported boulders and M-sand from quarries in Nenmara. He was found hanging in his house.
Kannankutty was a farmer and had sold off his lands one by one to pay his debt. He had availed of lakhs of rupees from micro-finance companies and moneylenders, who charge exorbitant interest, to repay the loan availed from Pallasena co-operative bank branch in Nenmara. However, as the quarries are closed due to Covid, he was unable to service the loans.
The relatives said he committed suicide as he could not bear the threats from moneylenders, after he defaulted on repayment. His body was found hanging in the verandah of his house around 2.30am on Monday. It was his son Sunil, who came out of the house hearing the barks of a dog, who saw the body first.
Kollengode CI Vipin Das said investigations showed that, apart from his inability to service micro-finance loans, the mental stress associated with it also led him to take the extreme step. The investigation is being conducted by sub inspector Shahul under the leadership of circle inspector Vipin Das. The post-mortem was conducted at the district hospital in Palakkad and the body was handed over to the relatives.
MONEYLENDERS CALL THE SHOTS IN BORDER AREAS
Palakkad: Kannankutty’s death is just an indicator of the vice-like grip that moneylenders have on people living in border areas of Palakkad. M Sahadevan, a neighbour of Kannankutty, said moneylenders and micro-finance company agents come every day and harass people in the border areas. Sahadevan said that Kannankutty had availed a loan of Rs 70,000 from moneylenders and had to pay a weekly interest of Rs 7,000. Kannankutty, who was a tractor driver in the quarries, had been out of work due to Covid-related lockdown and could not service the loan. The father of Kannankutty, Ramankutty Tharakan had five acres of land which was lost over the years as it was sold to meet the debt accumulated by the family over the years.