Kerala Dalit Student Received 96 Harassing Calls from Loan App Before Death
Nithin Raj, a 22-year-old Dalit medical student in Kerala, died after falling from a building at Kannur Dental College. Police investigations reveal that alongside alleged caste-based discrimination by faculty, Nithin faced intense harassment from an illegal online loan app. He had borrowed Rs 13,500 in February and was subjected to 96 threatening calls and messages the day before his death. The app also contacted one of his teachers 26 times, leading to a meeting with the college principal shortly before Nithin jumped. Authorities have booked two faculty members under the SC/ST Act and for abetment of suicide, while also probing the loan app operators. The incident has sparked widespread protests across Kerala, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemning the discrimination as an unforgivable crime. The Kerala University of Health Sciences has ordered a high-level probe into the self-financing college to investigate potential suppression of complaints and determine the institution's future status. The case highlights issues of predatory lending and systemic caste bias in educational institutions.
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Kerala Dalit Student Received 96 Harassing Calls from Loan App Before Death
Nithin Raj, a 22-year-old Dalit medical student in Kerala, died after falling from a building at Kannur Dental College. Police investigations reveal that alongside alleged caste-based discrimination by faculty, Nithin faced intense harassment from an illegal online loan app. He had borrowed Rs 13,500 in February and was subjected to 96 threatening calls and messages the day before his death. The app also contacted one of his teachers 26 times, leading to a meeting with the college principal shortly before Nithin jumped. Authorities have booked two faculty members under the SC/ST Act and for abetment of suicide, while also probing the loan app operators. The incident has sparked widespread protests across Kerala, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemning the discrimination as an unforgivable crime. The Kerala University of Health Sciences has ordered a high-level probe into the self-financing college to investigate potential suppression of complaints and determine the institution's future status. The case highlights issues of predatory lending and systemic caste bias in educational institutions.
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