PALLURUTHY: A 36-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his house. Following this, his wife has alleged that the man committed suicide allegedly due to harassment by the landlord for rent. The deceased has been identified as Thoppumpady native Aneesh, an autorickshaw driver.

Aneesh and his family, consisting of wife and two children, had moved into the rented house at Thoppumpady on January 16. He had paid an advance of Rs 25,000 and a rent of Rs 9000 to the landlord. However, he was unable to pay the rent afterwards as he was unable to operate his autorickshaw due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown. The family's financial crisis worsened when the area was announced a containment zone. According to Aneesh's wife Soumya, the landlord started asking Aneesh to vacate the house as he was unable to pay the rent for three months. Although Aneesh had requested the landlord to deduct the rent from the advance amount, landlord continued to harass Aneesh, Soumya said. She further alleged that Aneesh committed suicide after receiving a phone call from the landlord. The couple has two children, Anika (9) and Aabhinath (2).

Meanwhile, the landlord Shankarankutty has denied the allegations made by Soumya. "Though I had asked Aneesh to pay the rent, I have not threatened or harassed him. He told me that he would vacate the house on Wednesday after pay the pending amount," he said.