VIJAYAWADA: A 40-year-old man ended his life due to the alleged harassment by online loan app agents for not repaying his debt. The incident took place at Surayapalem under Bhavanipuram police station limits late on Saturday.
The deceased, identified as Tangellamudi Rajesh, worked at a private company in Ibrahimpatnam and lived in a rented house in Suryapalem village with his wife Ratnakumari. Police said Rajesh reportedly took a loan of around Rs 20,000 from an loan app two months ago. While he paid the first installment on time, he could not pay the second installment. Following this, agents of the loan app contacted Rajesh and allegedly pressurised him to pay the EMI by last Monday.
When he failed to do so, they allegedly sent Rajesh his morphed pictures and threatened to share it with his family. “On Saturday morning, the accused sent Rajesh’s morphed photos to his family, demanding him to pay the instalment. Unable to bear the insult, he died by suicide in the night,” Bhavanipuram police Mohammad Umar said.
Police registered a case of suspicious death under CrPC Section 174 based on a complaint lodged by Rajesh’s father, Ayyappa Raju. “He (Rajesh) felt insulted when the agents sent his morphed photos. None of us knew that he had taken a loan from a loan app,” Ratna Kumari lamented.
Suicide Helpline
OneLife: 78930-78930
Roshni, Hyderabad-based
NGO: 040-66202000