Transformed photo of his wife circulated over Rs 2,000 loan, Andhra man ends his life

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Humiliated by morphed photos of his wife being sent to his friends and family members by loan app agents, a young man has ended his life in Andhra Pradesh, reigniting concerns over how such criminal and inhumane steps are being used by such loan givers.


Narendra, 25, had a love marriage with Akhila on October 28. The couple lived in Visakhapatnam where the man was a fisherman. However, due to weather conditions, he could not go finishing for a few days, which plunged him into financial stress.


To meet his expenses, Narendra had taken a loan of Rs 2,000 from an app. Within weeks, the loan app agents started harassing him for repaying the loan, sending abusive messages.


The agents also sent morphed photos of his wife - along with a price quote on the image - to his friends and family members who were on his contact list. When the images landed on Akhila's phone, she told her husband and was informed about the loan.


The couple then decided to repay the entire amount, but that did not help. The harassment continued.


Soon, people they knew started calling Narendra to inquire about the image, which shattered him from inside. Heartbroken and humiliated, he ended his life on Tuesday, just over six months after tying the knot.


This is the third such incident reported from Andhra Pradesh in a week. In Nandyal district, a young woman faced harassment by the loan app agents and tried to end her life today, but was rescued by the cops. A third similar incident was reported from Guntur.


Loan apps are an easy way to get loans online since they cut down the documentation process, but their ways of dealing with clients have often come under criticism for being extreme or inhumane.


Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Anithaa had raised the loan app concerns in the state assembly last month and said the government would start cracking down on such people.


"The loan apps are luring the common public with their trapping mechanism. They first offer loans with lesser documentation and then torture the borrowers by illegal means. Their torture is so very harsh that people are committing suicide," she had said.
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