Kozhikode: Vadakara police are yet to trace a 25-year-old youngster who went missing from Ayancheri near Vadakara, with family members suspecting harassment and cyber abuse by an online loan app group to be behind his disappearance.

Vishnu Prakash, a native of Ayancheri, has been missing since April 13. According to his relatives, he had left home saying he was going to the bank, but has not been heard from since. Vadakara police have registered a case regarding this and begun an investigation.

Family members allege that Vishnu had availed a loan of ₹10,000 through an online lending app. When he failed to repay the amount on time, he was allegedly subjected to repeated threats over phone calls by agents linked to the app. The harassment reportedly escalated into a severe form of cyber abuse.

According to the complaint from his relatives, the group morphed Vishnu’s photograph into explicit images and circulated them among people in his contact list. The family claims that this humiliating cyberattack caused him extreme mental distress.

Police and relatives suspect that Vishnu may have fled his hometown out of fear of continued threats and public humiliation. Efforts are on to trace him, while the investigation is also focusing on the alleged role of the loan app network in the case.