Mason dies by suicide after Karuvannur bank sends recovery notice
THRISSUR: A 62-year-old mason who had taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh from Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank, which is embroiled in a Rs 100-crore loan scam, and received a revenue recovery notice was found dead on his house premises in Thaliyakkonam near Irinjalakuda on Thursday.
Alappadan Jose allegedly hanged himself from a tree branch in front of his house. He is the second person to take the extreme step following recovery proceedings by the bank. On July 22, former Porathissery panchayat member M Mukundan died by suicide.
Jose’s son, Sebin, said his father had been worried that he would lose his house and property. “My father had taken the loan in 2019 for my sister’s marriage expenses. As he had failed to pay the interest, the bank served a recovery notice on him. After getting the notice, my father approached the bank with a plea to allow him to pay the pending interest amount in instalments, but the bank authorities were firm that they would go ahead with the recovery proceedings,” he said.
Since Jose was a mason and following the Covid outbreak, the family had been in a tough financial situation, Sebin said. Meanwhile, the bank issued a statement denying exerting pressure on Jose to repay the loan. “Jose took a loan of Rs 4 lakh from the bank on December 30, 2019. The loan amount and Rs 70,000 in interest had been pending.
The bank issued notices to all persons who had defaulted on interest payment for more than three months. A notice was issued to Jose on April 17, 2021 urging him to pay the interest following which he paid Rs 10,000 on April 30 and Rs 5,000 on June 28. The bank didn’t send any further notice to him,” the statement said.
The CPM-controlled Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank came to the limelight recently after the Rs 100-crore loan scam was detected. A crime branch investigation is progressing in the case, while the bank is facing a severe cash crunch. The bank has been trying to get back the loan amounts by exerting pressure on borrowers.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm).