Loan Never Taken Leads to Home Auction: Lottery Seller and Family Now Homeless

A heartbreaking tale has unfolded in Nedupuzha, Vattappinni, where a lottery seller named Shabu and his family find themselves destitute on the streets. This dire situation arose when the Thrissur Co-operative Bank auctioned off Shabu’s land and house, despite him never having taken a loan from them.

The perplexing ordeal began in 2016 when Shabu availed a loan from the Koorkancherry branch of the Thrissur Co-operative Bank. However, the notice for recovery proceedings that arrived in 2020 was from the Sakthan branch, a place he claims to have never set foot in. Shabu took legal action by filing a case with the Thrissur Vigilance Court to unravel this mystery. To his astonishment, the bank had already auctioned his property, leaving his family homeless.

Shabu, now burdened with uncertainty, struggles to find shelter for his 76-year-old mother, wife, and unmarried daughter. The bank has offered him a slim chance to reclaim his home and land – paying off the loan, the auction amount, and a 5% penalty interest within 30 days. Failure to do so would result in the property going to the highest bidder.

According to Shabu’s account, he had initially borrowed Rs four lakh for his daughter’s wedding, using his house’s title deed as collateral. He faithfully repaid seven installments until his daughter required multiple surgeries, compounded by the financial strain of COVID-19. When confronted with a recovery notice, he committed to repaying the loan by selling his property during a bank Adalat session.

However, in 2020, he received an inexplicable recovery notice from the Sakthan branch, which did not specify the loan amount or the owed sum. This branch was entirely foreign to him. Despite his pleas to review his loan application, the bank remained unyielding. Even an RTI application yielded no answers.

Amidst this turmoil, Shabu turned to the Vigilance Court, harboring suspicions of foul play. Ironically, as the court deliberated on his complaint, he received a letter from the Thrissur Co-operative Bank, revealing that his house and land had been auctioned for a mere Rs 7.63 lakh on May 20. This figure raises questions, given the bank’s estimated value for the property at Rs 11 lakh, leaving the circumstances of the low auction price shrouded in ambiguity.