CHENNAI: An AIADMK functionary and his wife died by suicide allegedly due to harassment from a moneylender, who demanded high rate of interest on the money that they borrowed from him.
The deceased were identified as Prakash, 48 of Arambakkam, Tiruvallur district, who was an AIADMK functionary and his wife Saritha, 42. Prakash had a rental cab service business, police said.
On Thursday, they attempted to end lives after circulating a letter and audio files to their friends after which they were rescued and moved to Government Stanley Hospital where Prakash died on Friday night and Saritha died on Saturday morning without responding to the treatment.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Prakash had borrowed Rs 1.10 lakh from one Raja from Arambakkam in 2017 and was paying Rs 11,000 as monthly interest. Recently, he was not able to pay the interest regularly and faced harassment from Raja over phone and in person.
The couple’s efforts to get help from their relatives ended in vain. Raja abused Prakash and his wife Saritha and also threatened to seize their vehicle for the money they owed, said police sources.