TN moneylenders face Maoist threat

Chennai: A hand bill believed to be written by a Maoist group in Malayalam received by a media house in Kerala contained a threat from the Naxal group to high interest money lenders, including Tamils, who are in the speed interest business in Palakkad.

According to the letter, local money lenders, usurers from Tamil Nadu and vehicle financiers have become a major problem for villagers in Palakkad, particularly in areas stretching between Mannarkad and Kongad. “They are exploiting common people with interest rate ranging between Rs 6 to Rs 15 per Rs 100. Villagers, once trapped in this interest net, find it difficult to come out of it,” the hand bill said.

“If the government and media are not able to stop this, we will stop it. We know who are all doing such usury businesses in which villages. We have their names,” the note said further. If the law of the land is turning a blind eye towards this, we will execute our laws and this is a stern warning, concluded the Maoist communiqué.

Tamil-speaking moneylenders, who move around in cycles or bikes to give or collect daily loans and interest, are a common sight in these villages. The Palakkad district in Kerala has been witnessing some Naxal activism in recent times despite the Kerala police’s specialised unit ‘Thunderbolt’ operating to hunt them down in Palakkad and Wayanad.

The two Kerala districts adjoining the tri-junction of the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are where Maoist activities are considered to be high.