The secret operation by money lenders who demand exorbitant interest from hapless borrowers is again under cloud following the unnatural death of a young woman from Koyilandy. She reportedly handled confidential financial transactions worth ₹80 lakh using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Details of senders and receivers of the fund remain untracked even two months after the death of the 26-year old woman.
An action committee formed by local residents is now after the case to speed up follow-up investigation. Some residents are of the view that UPI transaction details can uncover the truth, but the police are yet to take it up seriously. They pointed out that the woman could be a victim of a well-planned financial fraud.
Police sources said that the woman had not revealed anything to her family members about the financial transactions using two personal bank accounts. She had also pawned 35 sovereigns of gold to mobilise money for the transactions. Since UPI applications are used for fund transfers, senders and receivers remain unknown, they said.
It was on December 12, 2021 that the woman was found dead in her house. Details of suspected financial transactions came to light recently. Her family members were reportedly ignorant of such deals. Moreover, she was not working with the accounts department of any multinational company.
The Sub Inspector in charge of the probe said a few more bank records were needed to proceed with the investigation. “Details of the transactions came to light very recently, and we have approached the bank authorities to get the transaction records in black and white. At first, we wanted to verify whether beneficiaries were private companies or individuals,” he added.
The officer from Koyilandy station also revealed that all suspected transactions had taken place within a period of 12 months before the woman’s death. According to him, her friends and relatives were clueless of such transactions. He also made it clear that two of her close friends would be quizzed again after getting transaction details.
