Kerala dental student suicide: Cyber Police book loan app for harassing teacher

The Kannur Cyber Police on Sunday registered a case against the online loan app that lent money to the Kannur Medical College student Nithin Raj, who died in a suspected case of suicide. The complaint was filed by Latha Sasidharan, an Assistant Professor at Nithin's college, who was harassed by the app due to non-repayment of the dues.

Nithin, 22, was found lying on a stone-paved area between the administrative block and the hospital building on the campus at around 1.30 pm on April 10. He was rushed to the casualty department but succumbed to his injuries at 3.35 pm.

Kannur City Police Commissioner Nidhinraj said further investigation, including analysis of Nithin’s mobile phone call data records (CDR), revealed that he had taken a loan through a mobile app during December–January. “He had received multiple calls regarding the loan. The agency had also obtained the teacher's contact number. When the loan defaulted, the teacher was also contacted. He said that the resulting mental stress could have been a contributing factor.

The commissioner said it is yet to be determined how the loan agency obtained the teacher’s contact information. “It could have been shared voluntarily or accessed through app permissions. This will be confirmed through forensic analysis,” he added.

Following a complaint from Latha, the police have registered the case against the unknown loan app under section 352(2) (intentional insult), section 308(3) (extortion) of the BNS and section 66(D) (cheating by personation using computer resources or communication devices) of the Information Technology Act 2000.

According to the FIR, the accused reached out to Latha via WhatsApp and text messages, demanding repayment of the amount borrowed by Nithin. The woman also received calls where the accused threatened her, demanding repayment.

On Monday morning, Nithin's family said that Nithin had taken a loan for his mother's treatment and that the repayment had been delayed because his father could not work between hospital visits.

Speaking to the media, the family also accused the hostel warden of harassing the youth. This comes as the police booked two of Nithin's teachers, Dr M K Ram and K T Sangeetha Nambiar, following allegations of verbal abuse and casteist remarks. Audio clips attributed to Nithin were also circulated, supporting the allegations. The duo have been charged under Section 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which deals with intentional insult or intimidation of an SC/ST member in public view, and Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

A seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), including cyber experts, has been formed to investigate the case. “We have recorded statements from the family and analysed the student’s phone data, including chats. Based on this, charges of abetment to suicide and provisions under the SC/ST Act were added to the FIR,” the commissioner said.