Retired cop, wife booked for abetting suicide of woman over loan

A retired police driver and his wife were on Wednesday charged with abetment to suicide by a special investigation team (SIT) formed to probe the death of Asha Benny, a 46-year-old woman who allegedly ended her life at Kottuvally near North Paravur on Tuesday.

The accused, Pradeep Kumar and his wife Bindu Pradeep, who are neighbours of the deceased, were named in the first information report after District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) M. Hemalatha constituted the SIT to investigate the death of the woman who took her life allegedly following frequent harassment by the accused over the money she had borrowed from them.

Pradeep Kumar and Bindu have been absconding since Tuesday evening. They were booked by the police based on the allegations in a note reportedly left by the deceased. The note alleged that Pradeep and Bindu demanded she repay ₹22 lakh more, even after she repaid ₹10 lakh she had borrowed from them with interest.

Asha’s husband Benny, who runs a grocery store, told the media on Wednesday that he was not aware of the financial deal until recently. He said Asha had told him that she had borrowed ₹10 lakh from the lenders in two instalments.

Munambam Deputy Superintendent of Police S. Jayakrishnan said that the police had not found any documents regarding the financial deal. He added that the Kerala Money Lenders Act and the Kerala Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act would be invoked in the case if the investigators found evidence of the accused charging exorbitant interest from the victim.

The funeral of Asha was held at St Sebastian’s Church, Kottuvally, on Wednesday.