In a suspected case of suicide, a 48-year-old woman was found hanging in her hollow bricks and interlocking tiles manufacturing unit at Vilappilsala on Monday.
The Vilappilsala police identified the deceased as Raji Sivan of Nedumkuzhy. She was found hanging in a shed adjacent to the unit around 5.30 a.m.
The police said financial hardship could have prompted Raji to take the extreme step. She is known to have outstanding dues amounting to several lakhs of rupees. With the COVID-19 pandemic pushing her business to near closure, she had hoped to repay the loans by surrendering nearly 25 cents of land towards the land acquisition being undertaken for the permanent campus of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University at Vilappilsala.
With her plot figuring among the 100 acres of land identified for acquisition, the revenue authorities had collected her land documents a year ago. However, the government later decided to acquire only 50 acres initially. With this, her plot was excluded from the list of plots to be acquired.
The delay on the part of the revenue authorities in returning her land documents apparently prevented her from pledging or selling the plot to repay the dues. She is survived by her husband and son. (Suicide prevention helpline: DISHA – 1056, 0471 – 2552056)
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