HYDERABAD: Even as the Telangana police is investigating several cases of citizens being scammed and harassed by instant loan app companies involving Chinese nationals, the statewide fraud has claimed the life of yet another person.
The deceased, 36-year-old G Chandra Mohan from Kamareddy district, was found hanging at his home in Gundla Pochampally on Saturday. He was rushed to a hospital by his family, but was declared brought dead by doctors. Inspector of Petbasheerabad police station,
S Ramesh, said that a case of abetment of suicide has been registered against the fraudsters. It may be mentioned here that this is the fifth such suicide in the last one month in the State, where victims were harassed by executives of instant loan app firms, demanding repayment.
Chandra Mohan’s family said that he had availed loans to the tune of Rs 80,000 through more than 10 instant loan apps. He worked at a warehouse in Gundla Pochampally.
Victim availed loans from many apps to pay off first one
The police launched the investigation based on a complaint from Chandra Mohan’s wife. No suicide note was found at his residence. The victim, after availing loan from an instant app, began approaching more apps to pay off the first loan.
One thing led to another, and before he knew it, Chandra Mohan was neck-deep in debts. His family told the police that Mohan was depressed as he was being harassed by the executives of the instant loan app companies, demanding repayment.
They would call him up regularly and abuse him, his family said. Earlier, similar cases were reported in Medak, Siddipet and Peddapalli districts, in addition to the case of a techie dying by suicide in Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.
In the recent past, several persons were arrested in various loan apps fraud cases in the state, including Chinese nationals operating out of Hyderabad and other cities like Pune and Delhi.
The city police had earlier reported that the instant loan app companies, which have been running businesses without the requisite permissions, had made transactions worth Rs 21,000 crores, revenues from which were transferred to Chinese companies.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)