Jagityal police are seeking legal opinion to ascertain if any other sections of law, in addition to abetment to suicide, can be invoked against the mobile phone bank loan app operators accused of driving a person to suicide in the district.
A chicken centre owner Ravinder ended his life in Varshakonda village of Ibrahimpatnam in the district allegedly unable to bear harassment of the loan app operators.
He consumed pesticide on November 30 at home. The 30-year-old man died while undergoing treatment on the night of December 9.
Ibrahimpatnam police of Jagityal district registered a case of abetment to suicide. The victim had availed loans ranging from ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 from different apps. They included Snapit and KreditBee. The mobile loan app operators started calling up his friends, relatives and numbers of persons saved in his mobile phone.
He reportedly received calls threatening to take ‘serious action’ against him. They allegedly intimidated him stating that they would morph photographs of his family members and put them online stating that he had defaulted loan payment. Address of one of the callers was traced to Mehdipatnam in Hyderabad but it turned out to be fake.
Investigators suspect the calls were made from Gurugram. Dedicated teams are working on different clues of the case to catch the persons responsible for Ravinder’s suicide.
“It is yet to be ascertained if these mobile loan apps have legal basis. Even if they are legal, there are guidelines to be followed for recovery of money,” Jagityal Superintendent of Police Sindhu Sharma said on Tuesday.
They cannot make phone calls at odd times. They are not supposed to insist for loan repayment when the loanee is occupied with functions like wedding.
“Imposing interest rate more than legally permissible and forcible collection amounts to extortion,” the SP said. Legal opinion was sought on registering cases of extortion and criminal intimidation against mobile loaning app operators in this case.
Meanwhile, a person approached Jagityal police for facing similar harassment from mobile loaning app operators. A second case was registered based on his complaint.
