A case of extortion has been registered against an online loan app for allegedly mentally harassing and intimidating a first-year BDS student, Nithin Raj R L, who later died after falling from a building, police said on Friday.
The FIR was lodged at Chakkarakkallu police station following a complaint from the cyber cell on April 16, nearly a week after the student’s death. The case has been filed under Section 308 (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Kerala Money Lenders Act and the Kerala Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act.
According to the FIR, the loan app had disbursed ₹15,000 to Raj in January at an interest rate of 36 per cent, allegedly in violation of applicable laws. Investigators said that from April 9 onwards, operators of the app repeatedly contacted the student to recover the loan amount and allegedly subjected him to intimidation and mental harassment.
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Raj (22), a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakandy, was found critically injured after falling from a building on April 10. He later succumbed to his injuries.
Police have also registered a separate case against two faculty members, Dental Anatomy Department Head Dr M K Ram and Associate Professor Dr Sangeetha Nambiar, on charges of abetment of suicide and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Allegations have been made that the student was harassed over his caste and complexion.
Following student protests, the college management dismissed Dr Ram on Thursday. Both accused faculty members remain untraced.
Multiple agencies, including the Kerala SC/ST Commission, State Human Rights Commission, Youth Commission, Kerala University of Health Sciences and the Medical Education Department, are conducting separate inquiries into the incident.
Police said investigations are continuing to determine the role of the loan app operators and others involved in the alleged harassment.
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