A controversy is brewing over the suicide of a 63-year-old woman, who allegedly took the extreme step out of depression over not receiving her family pension.
Congress activists on Saturday afternoon took out a march to the KSRTC depot at Koothattukulam, protesting against the alleged laxity on the part of the department in ensuring pension to its former employees. The march turned slightly violent when the police erected barricades a few hundred metres ahead of the depot and prevented the protesters. Thankamma, wife of Madhavan, a retired KSRTC employee, is suspected to have committed suicide as she was not getting the family pension for the past five months, the police said.
Madhavan was a driver with the KSRTC, and the family survived on the pension. Preliminary investigations by the police suggested that she had not been getting the pension for the past five months.
