The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Rise in money-lending crimes

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Thursday, Jun 07, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Rise in money-lending crimes

G. Anand

The police say the `blade mafia' has a strong presence in the city. Some of these groups operate with the tacit support of corrupt officials in the police department.

Thiruvananthapuram : Illegal money-lending-related crime seems to be on the rise in the city.

Last month, C.K. Ani, a local money-lender, was hacked to death at Nettayam. The police arrested Dileep, another money-lender, in connection with the murder. Investigating officer M. Radhakrishan Nair, Circle Inspector-Peroorkada, said the murder was the result of a feud between money-lenders and their criminal associates.

In March this year, a monetary dispute resulted in the kidnapping of an old man from Poojappura. The Peroorkada police arrested Maruthankuzhy Ambili and Aryanadu Shyam, both facing murder charges, in connection with the crime.

Earlier in February, `Aprani' Krishnakumar, a Kazhakuttom-based gang leader, was hacked to death on the Chakka-Kazhakuttom National Highway bypass. The police suspect that a businessman involved in illegal money-lending, real estate development, de-silting of canals and wetland reclamation, instigated Krishnakumar's murder by fanning old gangland rivalries. The main suspects in the case were yet to be arrested.

Private banks and finance companies in the city still employ criminal elements for confiscating vehicles from owners who default loan repayments, despite the Supreme Court deploring the crude practice. The Apex Court had insisted that recovery of loans, if any, should be only through legal means.

Illegal money-lending related disputes resulted in kidnappings, forcible occupation of homes, illegal eviction, and extortion and appropriation of private property. The city police took decisive action in cases where there were specific complaints.

However, a significant number of people, who failed to repay loans, endure beatings, public insults and threats from musclemen on the payroll of private financiers in silence. Most of them hailed from the lower economic strata. The excesses of the money-lenders were rarely reported to the police.

Police nexus

The police said the "blade mafia", organised groups that use strong-arm tactics to recover high interest loans, had a strong presence in the city. Some of these groups operate with the tacit support of corrupt officials in the police department. Several gang leaders in the city profit from illegal money-lending operations. Deputy Commissioner of Police Harshita Attaluri said the police were collecting intelligence on such groups.

In 2005, the then City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham had disbanded the city police crime squad under the Assistant Commissioner, Police Control Room, following charges of corruption and criminal nexus. The squad was accused of intervening in civil matters and taking commission for settling financial disputes, mostly to the advantage of money-lenders. The squad had no authority to receive or inquire into petitions on its own.

Settling money disputes through intimidation and strong-arm tactics was still a source of illegal income for corrupt officials in the police department, a senior official said. He said the State Special Branch was conducting a secret survey to identify corrupt policemen and trace their main sources of illegal income. Recently, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told journalists in Kannur that the police were yet to take stringent steps to curb the money-lending mafia.

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