Thoppumpady resident Aneesh, 36, was unable to pay rent since March as the pandemic had affected his livelihood
KOCHI: A 36-year-old autorickshaw driver living at Thoppumpady here has ended his life due to the alleged harassment from his house owner who demanded the pending rent amount of the lockdown period. The incident occurred last Thursday (August 27).
Aneesh of Ullampilliyil, who lived on Valummel Road at Thoppumpady, killed himself after slashing his wrist due to severe mental trauma that he faced after he was allegedly pressured to pay the pending rent by house owner T J Sankarankutty, said the complaint that Aneesh’s wife Soumya lodged with the Thoppumpady police.
As per the complaint, Sankarankutty repeatedly demanded the rent that had been pending since March. Aneesh was facing severe financial crunch as the area was declared a containment zone which had affected his livelihood.
“The deceased was facing severe financial crunch and hence, the monthly payment of rent had been delayed since March. A case has been registered and an investigation launched,” said a Thoppumpady police personnel.
Aneesh lived at Thoppumpady with his wife, two children, mother and mother -in-law. As per Soumya’s complaint, he had paid `25,000 as security money for the house, but was unable to pay the monthly rent of `9,000 since March due to the lockdown, taking the pending amount to `54,000. After deducting the security money from the total amount, Sankarankutty asked Aneesh to pay the remaining 29,000. The complaint said he had asked Aneesh to vacate after Onam to which the latter agreed.
“Last Thursday night, Aneesh received a call from Sankarankutty which lasted around six minutes. He then took the extreme step,” Soumya said in the complaint.
She said Aneesh was planning to shift to his sister’s house at Kottayam. However, the continued pressure from the house owner drove him to suicide.