The Kerala Police on Wednesday arrested former president of the Pulpally Cooperative Bank and KPCC general secretary K K Abraham and bank secretary K T Ramadevi in connection with the suicide of Rajendran Nair, the complainant in a loan fraud case.
Abraham was taken into custody from his house in Pulpally at 1 am and the arrest was recorded on Wednesday night. He was under treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College hospital after facing health issues.
Ramadevi, who was nabbed from Meenangadi, was remanded to custody by the Sulthan Bathery Magistrate Court. The co-accused in the case Sajeevan Kollappally is absconding.
Rajendran was found dead in his field allegedly after consuming poison on Tuesday. As per bank records, he took a loan of Rs 25 lakh by pledging his land. However, he claimed that he had only taken Rs 80,000 from the bank.
Meanwhile, T S Kurian, a former vice-president of the bank's governing body alleged that Rs 25 lakh was taken as a loan in Rajendran's name using his forged signature. He claimed the former president and his assistant committed the fraud. Kurian told Manorama News that the duo had stolen crores of rupees in this manner.
Brewing protest
Meanwhile, the body of Rajendran was handed over to his relatives after post-mortem on Wednesday. His relatives and the action committee, formed to protest his death, have decided to hold a rally in Pulpally with the body. Action committee members said they would protest with the body in front of Abraham's home. The body would also not be cremated till compensation to the family is announced immediately.
CPM vs Congress
CPM, in a statement, has alleged that the fraud was committed under the leadership of the KPCC general secretary and the Congress leadership is answerable. The CPM demanded that Congress should take over the debts of Rajendran Nair and other victims of the fraud.
The Vigilance informed that the chargesheet related to the bank loan fraud would be filed in court soon. The Vigilance investigation into complaints regarding embezzlement and loan fraud through benami transactions began in 2019. There are 10 people in the chargesheet, including the president, some members of the administration, and employees.
The proceedings are being speeded up in the light of allegations that attempts are being made to save the accused by delaying the chargesheet and also in the light of the suicide of the complainant farmer. The Human Rights Commission has registered a case suo motu.