An investor in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank in Kerala’s Thrissur district, who is a victim of the bank scam, has written letters to the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and Chief Minister of Kerala seeking mercy killing. Joshi, a 53-year-old man and resident of Mukundapuram in Thrissur, wrote the letter as a protest against the bank scam.
He had an investment of Rs 72 lakhs in the bank, and due to the non-payment of the invested amount his life is in dire straits, the letter said. His wife and his mother-in-law too had deposits in this bank. The letter alleges that the bank rejected his request for returning the entire amount for treatment and living expenses.
According to reports, he was working as an accountant but lost his job due to an accident and was bedridden for seven and a half years. Subsequently, he fell into debt due to medical expenses incurred. The letter said he was also diagnosed with a tumour in his neck.
Joshi’s letter requesting euthanasia said it would be better to kill himself rather than succumb to a bedridden state since he has no money for medical treatment and higher education for his children.
Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank was the most profitable cooperative bank in the Thrissur district before the scam came to light in 2021, with the suicide of a former panchayat member TM Mukundan. He was asked to repay a loan of Rs 50 lakh by the bank, which he had never taken.
The Crime Branch took over the investigation from the local police in July 2021. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) started an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act into the scam which is probing the bank fraud estimated to be above Rs 300 crore.
The administrative committee of the bank started to refund the deposits in 2023. On October 31, investors with deposits as low as Rs 50,000 up to Rs 1 lakh were allowed to withdraw them. The scheme allowed depositors to withdraw money fully or partially if the maturity period had ended. In November, 21,190 out of 23,688 depositors who held saving accounts in the bank were allowed to withdraw their deposits fully and the remaining were allowed to withdraw partially.
On December 1, the bank allowed partial drawal of matured deposits of more than Rs 1 lakh along with interest, according to reports.