The dark world of illegal loan apps in India
Al Jazeera
Borrowers are harassed by reps of lending apps who abuse, threaten and blackmail them by accessing their contacts, pics.
On August 12, a family in the central Indian city of Bhopal took a selfie in their home. After the photo, the father, Bhupendra Vishwakarma, gave his two sons, eight and three years old, a poisoned drink, and he and his wife took their lives by hanging themselves.
In his four-page suicide note, Vishwakarma, 35, who worked in an insurance firm, wrote that he was trapped in a cycle of debt from loan apps. Recovery agents had been tormenting him for months and the last message he received from them tipped him over the edge.
It said, “Tell him to repay the loan; otherwise, today I will strip him naked and upload it on social media.”
In his suicide note, Vishwakarma said, “Today, the situation has reached the point of losing my job as well. I can’t see a future for myself and my family. I am no longer worthy of showing my face to anyone. How will I face my family?”
Police have arrested five people involved in the scam so far even as the investigation continues.
