Cops hand over suicide victim’s phone to cyber cell

Kochi: Kuruppampadi police have handed over the mobile phone used by 31-year-old Aarathi of Aruvappara, who committed suicide due to alleged harassment from money lending apps, to cyber cell of Kerala police.
Aarathi, a mother of two, was found hanging in the bedroom of her house at Vengoor on Tuesday evening. Though family members broke open the door and took her to a nearby hospital, she was declared dead on arrival.
According to police, Aarathi had fallen into the trap of online apps which offered her huge interest if she deposited money with them."It is suspected that she sent them money, which the family got from sale of land. She also borrowed money from her friends to give to online apps. As the culprits continued to persuade her to give more money, she allegedly started to borrow money from lending apps. She borrowed small amounts ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 from the apps. As she defaulted on paying back the amount, they started to harass her. When it became unbearable, she took the drastic step," said a police officer.
This is the second such incident being reported in the district. A 39-year-old woman had committed suicide at Kadamakkudy in Sept last year due to alleged harassment from online loan apps.
Meckappala ward member Sreeja Shilo said family members had asked Aarathi to stay away from digital apps. "Her husband returned to his workplace in the Gulf just a month ago after clearing all his debt. The family was not aware that Aarathi used to borrow from lending apps. She had told them she was working online and would sit in her room after finishing her household chores. Once she told them she got Rs 3,500 from digital apps for working online. When the family members asked her to stay away from such fraudulent apps, she agreed to it as well. But operators of the apps began to threaten her by sending her morphed photos," Shilo said.