KOCHI: The mystery surrounding the death of four members of a family at Kadamakkudy, near Kochi, seems to be unfolding, with police pointing fingers at alleged harassment by an online lending company.
Nijo Johny (39) his wife Shilpa (32) and their children, Ebel (7), and Aron (5) were found dead at their home, in a suspected case of suicide, on Tuesday.
Officers, who started digging the case, received vital information that the lending company harassed the family by sending morphed pictures of Shilpa to their relatives. The initial report suggested the family committed suicide due to the financial burden associated with their plans to move abroad.
“The investigation revealed that Shilpa had taken a loan from an online lending company to meet family expenses and for money required for her to shift to Italy for work. Though we are yet to verify the details of the lending firm, we have confirmation that an amount of Rs 9,300 was debited from her bank account every month as repayment for the loan. However, she missed some payments, which resulted in the morphed photos and threatening calls from the firm,” said a source with police.
Officers started tracing the firm using the WhatsApp number from which relatives received the messages. “So far, we haven’t been able to unlock the victim’s phone. But we got a clue that online lending teams had threatened the victim. We will get more information once we unlock the phone,” said Vivek Kumar, SP Aluva.
He said a few family members received morphed images even after their death. “We have taken the matter seriously. A detailed probe has already begun,” the SP added.
Recently, a 22-year-old engineering student committed suicide after falling prey to a Chinese online firm offering loans in Karnataka. Tejas Nair was allegedly harassed by a company executive after he failed to repay the loan.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7)