The Crime Branch on Friday arrested a fourth accused in connection with the alleged abetment of suicide of Nithin Raj, a first-year BDS student of Kannur Dental College in Anjarakandy in Kerala.
The latest arrest is that of a loan app telecaller from Uttar Pradesh, identified as Saurav Kumar, 24, a native of Noida. He was arrested from Delhi and has been booked on charges of abetment of suicide. According to investigators, Saurav worked as a telecaller for the loan app that allegedly subjected Nithin Raj to repeated harassment and threats over loan repayment.
The Crime Branch is probing the role of loan app operators in the death of Nithin Raj, who died after jumping from a college building on April 10. Investigators are examining allegations that continuous harassment by recovery agents and pressure linked to a digital loan contributed to the student’s mental distress.
Earlier, the Kannur city Cyber Crime Police had arrested three persons associated with the loan app InstaPay from Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The accused were identified as Rishikesh Tiwari (32) of Ghaziabad, Prashant Gheval (28) of Uttar Pradesh, and Prakash Jai (54) of Faridabad, Haryana. They were brought to Kannur and remanded in judicial custody. Investigators allege that the app provided Nithin Raj a loan at an exorbitant interest rate and that recovery agents repeatedly contacted and threatened him and the persons listed as references in the application.
Police records indicate that Nithin Raj had borrowed ₹15,000 through the loan app and was allegedly subjected to relentless recovery calls. A case was registered after investigators found that he had received repeated calls and pressure from the app before his death.
Apart from the loan app angle, the Crime Branch is also investigating allegations of caste-based harassment and mental harassment by faculty members of the dental college. The case includes charges of abetment of suicide and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against accused faculty members.
Published – June 12, 2026 03:53 pm IST
