KOCHI: Dramatic scenes played out at the Muvattupuzha Urban Cooperative Bank on Friday when Ajesh Kumar V A's family came to deposit the cheque of Rs 1,35,586 given by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan to repay the loan amount.
The CPM-controlled bank refused to accept the cheque saying that its employees had collected the amount and closed the account, leading to protests by Ajesh's family. Ajesh's two minor girls were evicted from their house by the bank officials last week for defaulting on the loan, triggering a controversy. He questioned the cooperative bank's decision to close the account without consulting him or his family. After Ajesh's family continued with their protest, the bank relented and deposited the cheque.
The issue had blown into a big controversy last week after local MLA Kuzhalnadan, accompanied by his party workers and people living in the locality, broke open Ajesh's property sealed by the bank and allowed the children inside the house.
According to Ajesh's family, when the eviction issue kicked up a huge controversy, CITU announced that it will repay the loan. "However, Ajesh had refused CITU's offer saying that he didn't want any help from CPM that had insulted him and his family," said Ajesh's family members.
When the bank carried out the eviction last week, Ajesh had been at a hospital undergoing treatment for a heart ailment. Ajesh had defaulted on a Rs 1 lakh loan. Their mother was also at the hospital while their twin daughters were at the home while two other daughters were at a relative's place.
Soon after the MLA wrote a letter enquiring about Ajesh's outstanding loan amount and making an offer to settle the account, the bank employees under the aegis of CITU notified that they had paid the money and closed the loan account.
After Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan promised action against the bank officers, Jose K Peter, CEO of Muvattupuzha Urban Bank, resigned from the post on Wednesday.