Thrissur man dies by suicide: Family blames harassment by microfinance group

Thrissur: A man died by suicide after allegedly being harassed and threatened by a microfinance group. The deceased, Ratheesh (42) of Viyyur here, was found hanging. His family alleged that the finance group often came home and harassed him and threatened him over the phone, as a result of which Ratheesh ended his life.

Ratheesh had taken a loan of Rs 8 lakh from the microfinance group. According to the family's complaint to the police, the company threatened him with returning Rs 6 lakh immediately. Ratheesh had told his family about the debt.

Once he began defaulting on payments, a gang started visiting his house frequently, often harassing him. After he defaulted on the vehicle loan payment, he could not carry out the test of his autorickshaw. Furthermore, the police took Ratheesh's autorickshaw into custody for violating the law. His family alleges that, depressed by the turn of events, Ratheesh took the extreme step.