Summary:
23-year-old Sai Aravind, an IT professional from Chennai, died by suicide unable to cope with the pressure exerted by money lenders.
On the one side, the pandemic has pushed many in the working middle-class to the brink of economic crises.
On the other, a crop of new-age financial companies is pushing these people into massive debts.
.
23-year-old Sai Aravind, an IT professional from Chennai, died by suicide unable to cope with the pressure exerted by money lenders.
On the one side, the pandemic has pushed many in the working middle-class to the brink of economic crises.
On the other, a crop of new-age financial companies is pushing these people into massive debts.
Aravind had taken a loan from money-lending app Rupee Bazaar, but he could not return the sum within the allotted time.
What happened next was full-scale cyber-bullying by the otherwise soft-spoken lenders, allege the friends and family of Aravind.
“As part of the formality to obtain a loan, Aravind had given the app access to all the contacts in his phone,” says a friend.
When Aravind could not return the money, the lenders allegedly started calling random numbers in his contacts list and harassing them.
At times, they intimidated and used derogatory words on Aravind and his contacts alleges the friend.