: A Sub-Inspector of the Armed Reserve Police camp at Palakad was arrested today from his residence at nearby Pazhayannur for allegedly lending money at exorbitant rate of interest and documents, blank cheques and stamp papers recovered from him.
The arrest was part of the ongoing state-wide crackdown ordered by the government against money lenders, many of them unlicensed, who give money at high interest rates and allegedly threaten borrowers to repay the amount,coming on the back of the suicide of a five member family at Thiruvananthapuram last week.
Documents worth several lakhs of Rupees pertaining to lending money at high interest rate, 37 blank cheques, many signed stamped papers in the denomination of Rs 100, Rs 50 and Rs 20 were also recovered from the residence of T V Joseph, police said.
Police said charges had been framed against the SI under IPC section 420 (Cheating and thereby dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and Sec 3 and 4 read with 17 of the Kerala Money Lending Act.
