Around 150 people laid siege to Udiyankulangara stretch of Thiruvanathapuram-Kanyakumari National Highway 66 on Sunday, with the dead body of 63-year-old P Venugopalan Nair, who reportedly killed himself on Saturday evening.
The protesters alleged that Venugopalan decided to commit suicide because of the Nirmal Chit Fund Scam, where he lost several lakh rupees that he had invested for his daughter’s wedding.
The case relates to the alleged swindling of money amounting to crores by the proprietors of Nirmal Krishna chit firm.
The chit firm, located in Palukal in Tamil Nadu, which is not far from the TN-Kerala border, had investors from both the states. The case is being investigated by a team of Tamil Nadu crime branch. It was reported that victims of the chit fund scam, those from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, would be intensifying their agitation against the slow pace of the probe starting Saturday.
63-year old Venugopalan Nair, who was found hanging at his home on Saturday evening, was one of the investors. A native of Kochottukonam at Udiyankulangara, in the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, Venugopalan had reportedly invested Rs 25 lakh at Nirmal Krishna chit firm for his daughter’s wedding, fixed for February, according to Mathrubhumi Daily.
He had been fighting to get his money back, but the chit fund owners have been absconding since September.
On Sunday, protesters who laid siege to the road demanded that those who were responsible for Venugopalan’s suicide be arrested.
"There were around 150 people. The protest caused traffic block for sometime. They dispersed after a while, police personnel were present to avoid any untoward incident,” Parassala Sub Inspector Praveen SB told TNM. He added that it was unclear whether the scam was the reason for the suicide.