Wayanad: Investors and their family members, who alleged large-scale loan fraud in the Pulpally Service Cooperative Bank, began an indefinite protest on Sunday in front of the residence of K K Abraham, a Congress leader and former president of the bank’s administrative committee.

The protesters include Daniel and his wife, who claim they were asked to repay ₹1 crore for a loan of ₹2 lakh, and the family of the late Rajendran Nair, who died by suicide after receiving a revenue recovery notice for ₹25 lakh despite having borrowed only ₹80,000. Other investors facing similar recovery proceedings have also joined the agitation.

The protesters demanded the immediate return of their pledged land documents and declared they would continue the strike “until death” if their demands were not met.

Earlier, on October 3, the group had launched an indefinite protest in front of the bank, which drew widespread attention after 95-year-old Sreedharan Nair, father of Rajendran Nair, joined the agitation. Police later intervened, warning the family against involving the ailing man, and he was shifted to a hospital. The protest in front of the bank was called off on Saturday, after which the demonstrators moved to Abraham’s house.

Daniel said he had no choice but to continue the agitation. “I am old and suffering from several illnesses. I am ready to die fighting until I get my land documents back,” he said.

Meanwhile, K K Abraham maintained that he is a victim of a political conspiracy. “I have already been arrested twice—once by the Vigilance Department and again by the Enforcement Directorate—but no charge sheet has been filed even after three years. That itself shows the case is politically motivated,” he said.

He added that such “seasonal agitations” tend to surface during periods of political activity, such as Congress reorganisation or local body elections. “I have requested the Chief Minister to order a CBI probe into the case, including the suicide of Rajendran Nair. I had to spend 26 days in jail in the Vigilance case and nine months in the ED case, yet there’s still no charge sheet,” Abraham said.

The alleged fraud came to light after Rajendran Nair, a 60-year-old farmer from Kelakavala, died by suicide in 2023, reportedly after the bank ignored his repeated complaints about the manipulation of loan records. His family later received a revenue recovery notice for ₹25 lakh against his original loan of ₹80,000, which they say drove him to take his life.