Cong attacks Left govt over college student death in Kerala

PTI, Sep 21, 2022, 1:45 PM IST

Image credits: PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition Congress on Wednesday targeted the Left government in Kerala over the death of a college student, who was found hanging after seeing attachment notice on her house from the Kerala Bank, and said she was a victim of its ”wrong cooperative policies”.

Coming down heavily on the dispensation, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to explain whether his government formed the Kerala Bank, the apex cooperative bank, to persecute the common people. The 20-year-old girl, Abhirami, a native of Sooranadu, was found dead at her house in Kollam on Tuesday evening.

According to family members, she was found depressed after seeing the recovery notice affixed on the house when she returned from the college.

She later locked herself up in a room, where she was found hanging after some time, they said.

Her father had taken a loan to the tune of Rs 10 lakh from a local branch of the Kerala Bank, which recently launched the recovery proceedings after he defaulted on the repayment.

”Abhirami, who had to commit suicide after the attachment notice was found pasted at her house, was a victim of the wrong cooperative policies of the LDF government,” he said in a statement.

Alleging that the college student was yet another victim of the Kerala Bank, which was formed for political gains in the cooperative sector, Sudhakaran said the state government was also responsible for her demise.

The incident was also an example of the ”failure” of the state government in formulating a clear policy document to protect the common people who are suffering from loss of income and debt due to Covid outbreak.

The Kannur MP alleged it is the Kerala Bank which troubles people the most in the name of SARFAESI Act.

Both the union and the state governments should reconsider whether to implement the SARFAESI Act, which is ”pushing the borrowers to death,” the KPCC chief added. The Sarfaesi Act grants power to banks to recover their loan dues without the intervention of the Court.