GUWAHATI: A man in Mizoram emerged as an angel to clear the bank loans of four people he never knew.
The reason – he derives joy by doing something for people who need help.
The man offered help on the strict condition that his identity must not be revealed. He did not seek any publicity for his act of benevolence.
He helped close the loan accounts of the quartet – three of them women – by transferring Rs 9,96,365. Except for a very few at the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Aizawl branch, nobody knows who he is.
“Three of us at our bank branch have known this gentleman for some time. So, he visited us the other day to tell us about his intention. He said if we select some people who had availed of loan to be self-reliant by mortgaging property but are struggling to repay, he will make the payment. He had limited the help to Rs 10 lakh,” the SBI branch Assistant General Manager Sheryl Vanchhong said.
She said they selected four such people who were doing some petty trades but were suffering in the COVID-19 lockdown. Subsequently, the mysterious man had transferred the money online.
Sheryl said the beneficiaries were called the next day and when they arrived, the land documents they had mortgaged were returned. They were perplexed but when everything was revealed, they lost words to thank the unidentified man.
At their insistence, the bank had requested the man to visit the branch. However, he refused to come as he stood firm against publicity.
The bank had urged the four beneficiaries not to make public the help that came in for them.
However, the only man, Muana L Fanai, took to social media to thank the "guardian angel". He had availed the loan for poultry farming.
He wrote: "I suffered a series of setbacks, which worsened after the novel coronavirus outbreak. This mysterious man cleared my outstanding amount of Rs 2,46,631."
Sheryl said the man is a businessman based in Aizawl.
"This is the first time that he made the help anonymous. He helped a lot of people in the past,” she said, adding, "He is an important customer of SBI and well known in our bank circles."