Intensifying her protest against the attempts to evict her family from their ancestral property, Preetha Shaji, a resident of Manathupadam near Edappally, began an indefinite hunger strike on Sunday.
P.T. Thomas, MLA, inaugurated the protest at a meeting attended Hibi Eden, MLA; and several other social activists. About two weeks ago, the police had taken Ms. Shaji into custody along with several others moments ahead of her scheduled protest in front of the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Ernakulam. Earlier on July 9, the revenue authorities, armed with a High Court order, tried to evict her family from the property by force. The attempt, however, had to be withdrawn in view of a mounting protest by the anti-SARFAESI activists, who also raised threats of self-immolation. The police also arrested 14 protesters in connection with the incident, of which five persons are yet to get bail.
The family has been facing eviction over the default of payment of a loan by a relative. The woman’s husband had stood as guarantor for a loan in 1994. The bank auctioned their property under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act to an individual.
