A Congress MLA in Kerala wrote out a cheque to help a poor family repay their Rs 1-lakh bank loan, saving their house from being attached.

A party worker had on April 2 informed Muvattupuzha MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan that bank and revenue officials had just taken possession of a house on the basis of a court order, leaving four children locked out of their home.

Their father Ajesh Kumar, who had missed several repayment deadlines set by the Muvattupuzha Urban Cooperative Bank, had earlier in the day been admitted to hospital and his wife Manju was with him.

The children, aged 4 to 11, were alone in the small house that stands on a three-cent (1,300 square feet) plot at Paipra village, Muvattupuzha, when the bank officials arrived.

Kuzhalnadan rushed to the spot and found the bank officials had sealed the house and fixed a new door, closing the open rear entrance.

The MLA broke the lock open in the presence of police, local panchayat members and a large number of neighbours and let the children in. Their mother soon returned from hospital.

With the eviction becoming an embarrassment for the CPM-led Left Democratic Front government, minister for cooperation V.N. Vasavan declared that the recovery proceedings had violated state policy, which required banks to explore softer options before taking drastic steps. Vasavan has initiated disciplinary action against the bank.

Bank CEO Jose K. Peter resigned on Wednesday.

Although Kuzhalnadan had promised the family that he would settle the pending loan, the Kerala Cooperative Employees Union, affiliated to CPM labour arm Citu, on April 4 claimed to have repaid the entire amount in an apparent face-saver for the Left government.

But Manju, accompanied by Paipra panchayat president Mathew Varkey, arrived at the bank on April 8 to deposit a cheque, signed by the MLA, for Rs 135,586, which included the interest and penalties.

Bank officials informed her that the union had already cleared the dues and closed the loan account but Manju insisted on repaying the loan with the MLA’s cheque. The bank eventually accepted it.

Kuzhalnadan said he had been able to intervene in the matter since he had happened to be near the village when the bank officials seized the house.

“Just think of the mental trauma the young children endured when strangers came and locked them out, that too after seeing their father being rushed to hospital for vomiting blood,” the lawmaker said in a video message.

“What pained me most was the possibility of the children suffering long-lasting mental trauma and insecurity. I could see their helplessness, which is what made me break the lock and allow them in.”

Kuzhalnadan later told The Telegraph that banks had attached over 6,000 properties in Kerala and that more than 54,000 loan default cases were still pending in the state. “This is a serious issue that the government needs to look into,” he said.

Many people have posted congratulatory messages on the MLA’s Facebook page.

“Great respect and congratulations for whatever you did for saving the children,” a social media user, Jay Panicker, wrote.

“The people chose the right person as their MLA,” wrote Thumb Admaravu.

Ajil Ittiyavira commented: “Muvattupuzha is realising our choice was absolutely right.”

An advocate, K.R. Subhash Chandran, told this newspaper the bank could have the MLA booked for trespass if it wanted.

“There’s a legal provision to book anyone breaking the lock of a sealed property for trespass. The police too can register a case based on an aggrieved party’s complaint,” he said.

“But since this incident has already caused much embarrassment to the bank and the government, I don’t think they would be keen on inviting more negative attention by proceeding against the MLA.”

A source in the state cooperation department said the department and the bank wanted the matter closed, especially since the dues had been settled by the MLA.