Elderly woman sits on hunger strike in Dharmapuri to retrieve money loaned to her relative

85-yr-old Parvathy begins hunger strike in Dharmapuri to retrieve ₹67 lakh loaned to relative. She & son facing harassment for demanding repayment. Accused paid ₹10 lakh interest in 2022 & refused to pay more. Police booked case & summoned accused for settlement by Sep 10.

An 85-year-old woman began a hunger strike in Dharmapuri on Tuesday seeking the government’s intervention to help retrieve ₹ 67 lakh that she loaned to her relative. 

The complainant, V. Parvathy, has lent the amount to her husband’s nephew P.K.V. Pounraj, a local industrialist.

The woman alleged that she and her younger son Sukumar were facing harassment for demanding the amount lent back in 2017 in two tranches of ₹ 35 lakh and ₹ 32 lakh, and sought the help of the police.

Ms. Parvathy told The Hindu the amount was deposited by the district administration after acquiring their land for a marketing society. Pounraj borrowed the money in two instalments, but did not repay it. “He pleaded for the money as loan and against a bank interest with the assurance that he would repay it. However, within 3 months, Pounraj kept stalling and refused to pay,” Ms. Parvathy said. Pounraj had paid ₹ 10 lakh towards interest in 2022 and had since refused to pay any more. 

Ms. Parvathy had petitioned the Chief Minister’s Cell, the DGP’s office, and the District Collector demanding intervention.

Inspector of Dharmapuri town police station C. Ramasamy told The Hindu that the Superintendent of Police had ordered to book a case under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code against Pounraj. The accused claimed that he had paid the loan amount in parts to Parvathy’s eldest son for his cancer treatment without her knowledge. However, that holds no merit, and the Subordinate Court has ordered for a settlement by September 10. We have summoned the accused on September 9 and hope to retrieve the money back to Ms. Parvathy,” Mr.Ramasamy said.