Loan app harassment case: Kerala police arrest key accused from Noida

KANNUR: The Kannur City cyber crime police have arrested a key accused running the loan app “Instant Funds” from Uttar Pradesh’s Noida in connection with the death of a dental college student at Ancharakandi, .

The arrested include Rishikesh Tiwari (32) from Ghaziabad, Prashant Kheval (28) from Uttar Pradesh, and Prakash Jai (54) from Faridabad, Haryana. The arrests were made under the direction of Kannur City Police Commissioner Nidhinraj P, with a team led by SI Mithun S V, along with CPOs Sunil K and Dijin Raj P K.

The action followed a complaint by the student’s teacher, whose phone number was listed as a reference in the loan app. After the student failed to repay the loan, the accused allegedly made repeated threatening calls and messages, harassing the teacher continuously. Even after blocking numbers, the harassment continued from multiple other numbers.

Kerala CM calls Kannur student death ‘unacceptable’; probe ordered amid harassment allegations
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Through investigation, police traced an active number to Noida and identified the operation. Despite challenges in locating the accused in a large city, the team successfully identified their office, which functioned like an IT setup with around 40 employees handling loan promotions, disbursement, and recovery.

With the assistance of Noida police, a raid revealed that the accused used SIM boxes instead of phones, capable of operating up to 30 SIM cards simultaneously for mass calling. The police seized the SIM boxes and multiple SIM cards from the premises.

The accused have been booked under relevant law at Chakkarakkal Police Station, invoking provisions of the Kerala Money Lenders Act, Kerala Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act (2012), and Section 308 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further investigation is under way. (ANI)