Police name moneylender couple in Kerala woman's suicide case

Kochi, Aug 20 (PTI) The police have named a couple as accused in the case of a 46-year-old woman who died by suicide after they allegedly threatened her over money lending in Kottuvally in Ernakulam district, a senior officer said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Kottuvally native Asha Benny died by drowning, a day after she was allegedly threatened by Bindhu and her husband, Pradeep Kumar, who live in the neighbourhood.

Relatives of the deceased alleged that Asha had borrowed over Rs 10 lakh from Bindhu, who demanded a high rate of interest.

However, despite repaying more than Rs 20 lakh, Bindhu and Pradeep continued to demand additional money, a relative said.

Distressed over the situation, Asha first attempted suicide by injuring herself. Following the incident, Asha and her family approached the police, who held discussions with Bindhu and Pradeep, a retired police official.

However, after the discussion, Bindhu and Pradeep allegedly went to Asha’s house on Monday night and threatened her again, Asha’s husband, Benny, said.

On Tuesday, Asha was found dead in a river, and police later recovered a suicide note from her house.

Speaking to reporters, Ernakulam Rural Police Chief M Hemalatha said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted to probe the case.

"The SIT has been formed under the leadership of the Munnambam DySP. As it is the first day of the investigation, we are completing the preliminary procedures. A detailed investigation will be conducted in the case. We have amended the charges and included the offence of abetment of suicide," Hemalatha said.

A senior police officer said a report had been filed at the magistrate’s court to arraign Bindhu and Pradeep as accused under the offence of abetment of suicide. The officer added that fresh charges were included on the basis of the suicide note recovered from Asha’s house.

Hemalatha said the financial transactions between Asha and Bindhu were being scrutinised and that investigators would also examine whether Bindhu and Pradeep had engaged in illegal moneylending activities.

Meanwhile, Benny, the husband of the deceased, said he had only recently learnt that his wife had borrowed money.

"Asha had attempted suicide earlier, and only then did we realise she had borrowed money from Bindhu. She told us the money was borrowed in instalments for house repairs, medical expenses, and purchases for her small-scale textile business," Benny said.

According to him, Bindhu and Pradeep had threatened Asha on three recent occasions, and she was deeply distressed on Tuesday before she took her own life. He added that his family was expecting a fair investigation into the case.

Asha's body was handed over to her relatives after the post-mortem on Wednesday. PTI TBA TGB ROH