An urban cooperative bank in Kerala has come into focus after a Dalit family was evicted from their house, as the bank had attached their property. The incident took place in Muvattupuzha on Saturday, April 2, when bank officials, along with the local police, sealed the house of Ajeesh and evicted his two daughters who happened to be home at the time, reportedly for defaulting on a loan payment. The officials said that they attached the property based on a court directive. Ajeesh, who suffers from a heart ailment, was at a hospital with his wife for his treatment when the incident occured.
The issue reached Congress MLA from Muvattupuzha, Mathew Kuzhalnadan, who protested against the eviction by breaking open the doors of the house that was sealed.The MLA, in a video uploaded on social media, said, "It doesn't matter which court passed the order but it was unacceptable to throw two children out of their house. How can they evict two minor children when their parents were not home? Even though they (bank officials) may have the court order, they could have shown some humanity."
After the incident, the state government sought a report from the bank. Cooperation Minister VN Vasavan said that the government’s stand was that no one should be evicted until another shelter for them was identified. "The stand of the Left government is that no one should be evicted and rendered shelterless. The process of eviction can take place once a shelter for the family is identified. I came to know that the bank has been asked to hand over the key to the family. We have asked for a report from the bank," Vasavan told reporters.
On Saturday night, after seeing the two children locked out of their house, other residents informed Kuzhalnadan of the incident. On Sunday, he wrote a letter to the bank, offering to clear the debts of Ajeesh, which amounted to about Rs 1.5 lakh. A few employees of the bank, who belonged to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), reportedly offered to raise the amount and repay Ajeesh’s debt. However, he refused the offer.
"What's the point in helping me now? I went to the bank umpteen times seeking help. No one bothered. Now, they have humiliated me. I don't want their help," Ajeesh told reporters.
Bank officials claim that Ajeesh had many opportunities to repay the loan that he took five years ago, but since he did not, they went to court to seek eviction. Now, after the incident gained the public’s attention, MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan has offered to pay the amount on Ajeesh’s behalf, so that the family can occupy their house again. The MLA also said that the Congress will take care of the expenses for his heart ailment.
(With PTI inputs)
