The twin suicide of a woman and her daughter in Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram district took a new turn on Wednesday with police arresting four relatives after the recovery of a suicide note purportedly written by victims blaming the kin.
Relatives had initially said the Canara Bank’s bid to attach their house for failing to repay a housing loan drove the two to kill themselves but police said they found a suicide note which squarely blamed family members for driving them to death.
In the note the woman Lekha Chandran (42) blamed her husband, mother-in-law and two other relatives for their suicide. Her husband, Chandran, did not do anything to avert the attachment of house and insisted that she bring money from her maternal house to pay up the bank loan, she allegedly wrote in the note. She also mentioned she and her daughter were subjected to black magic in the house and that her mother-in-law had tried to poison them on a couple of occasions.
Lekha and her daughter Vaishnavi (19) had set themselves on fire in their house n Tuesday. Relatives had said both were upset with the bank’s attempt to attach their house for failing to repay the housing loan and bank’s inhuman attitude led to their death.
“Besides the three-page suicide note both wrote on the wall about the plight they were undergoing. It seems relatives were trying to mislead the inquiry blaming the bank. We will get a clear picture only after questioning them in detail,” said Thiruvananthapuram rural SP P Ashok Kumar.
When the news spread at least two branches of Canara Bank were attacked by angry protesters. But things changed dramatically after the recovery of suicide note from the house. Police had sealed the house soon after the incident and forensic experts found the suicide note on Wednesday when they examined the site in detail.
Police later arrested Chandran, his Krishnamma, her sister Shanta and her husband Kasinathan.
The bank insisted that it handled the issue as per the law and it did not do anything to precipitate the matter. Police also said there was no mention of any harassment from banks officials in the suicide note.
“Everybody arrived at a conclusion without checking facts. The case was going on for many years and attachment officer was appointed by the court. We never pressurized anyone and gave them enough time,” said senior manager of Canara Bank Jacob P Chtirakulam.
Chandran who had earlier worked in the Persian Gulf was not at home when the incident took place. He later told police that he had taken Rs 7.80 lakh loan from Canara Bank branch in Neyyttinkara 15 years ago and he had paid back Rs 8 lakh so far but the bank was insisting for a payment of Rs six lakh more as interest and other penalties. He said his property was worth Rs 50 lakh and he promised the bank that he will clear all dues after disposing the house but it refused to wait. Many including State Finance Minister Thomas Iassac had blamed the bank.
First Published:
May 15, 2019 17:31 IST
Source: HindustanTimes