IRINJALAKKUDA: Another person who took a loan from the Karuvannur Co-operative Bank has committed suicide following the scam. The deceased has been identified as Thaliyakkonam native Jose (62). He was found hanging from a tree in front of his house on Thursday morning. Thelapilly native Mukundan, who also took a loan from Karuvannur Co-operative Bank, had earlier committed suicide.

Jose, a mason, had taken a loan of Rs 4,50,000 in 2019 by mortgaging the documents of his house for his daughter's wedding and house repairs. Of this, Rs 4,19,929 is due. Due to financial hardship and unemployment following Covid, 13 repayments were delayed.

The bank had issued a notice on April 17 asking him to settle the arrears. Subsequently, Rs 19,500 was repaid twice in April and May, bank officials said. No notice has been sent since then. Relatives and locals said Jose was in a state of mental distress due to the difficulty of repaying the loan. Wife: Philomena. Children: Jofina and Philjo.