Nandyal student ends life in suspected loan app harassment case

Nandyal: Two weeks after a couple died by suicide at Rajahmundry in the East Godavari district after being harassed by loan app agents, another suspected suicide, allegedly linked to loan apps, was reported in Nandyal district in Andhra Pradesh. The victim, Virendra, was a resident of Balaji Complex in Nandyal and was a second-year BTech student in an engineering college in Bengaluru. His father runs an electric shop and has three children; Virendra was the youngest son.

According to I-Town SI Subbarami Reddy, "It is a suspected case of loan app harassment but we are yet to confirm it. We are yet to check his mobile phone. The boy also reportedly failed in two subjects."

According to sources, Virendra recently took a loan from a loan app. Due to a delay in repaying the money, loan app agents started harassing him with calls and messages. They also called his relatives and friends, asking them to pay the loan. The loan app agents morphed a photo of Virendra with the message "This guy took a loan and is not repaying it. His file will be sent to the police. I'm giving your number as reference so you have to pay the loan." The agents sent this message to Virendra's friends.

Virendra's father has lodged a complaint following his son's death. The I-Town police have registered a case and started an investigation.

7 arrested in loan app fraud

After Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy told officials to take serious action against loan app agents, the south zone police in Rajamahendravaram arrested seven persons in connection with the Rajahmundry couple's suicide. According to the East Godavari police, the couple took loans from around seven loan apps and were harassed by agents of two loan apps—Hundi Loan and Speed Loan. Four days ago, the police found that the accused had made bank transactions of Rs. 1 crore and were changing bank accounts frequently.