Kannur (Kerala) | The crime branch on Friday arrested a Uttar Pradesh native who worked as a telecaller for an illegal loan app firm in connection with the death of a first-year BDS student at Kannur Dental College, officials said.
The arrested person was identified as Saurav Kumar, 24, a native of Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
Nithin Raj, a native of Thiruvananthapuram and a first-year BDS student, died on April 10 after falling from a building on the college campus, allegedly driven to distress by multiple factors.
During the investigation, the crime branch found that Raj had borrowed money through an illegal loan app and was allegedly subjected to mental harassment by its operators over repayment demands and high interest charges.
According to officials, Kumar had repeatedly contacted Raj in his capacity as a telecaller, demanding repayment of the loan.
Acting on a tip-off, a crime branch team travelled to Uttar Pradesh and arrested Kumar.
The accused was brought to Kannur and remanded to judicial custody earlier in the day, officials said.
Earlier, three other persons associated with the loan app had also been arrested from Uttar Pradesh in connection with the case.
Raj's family and friends had alleged that he was also under severe stress due to harassment by two faculty members of the college.
The two faculty members were subsequently arraigned as accused on charges of abetment of suicide.
One of the teachers has been granted anticipatory bail by a court in Kannur, while a similar plea filed by the Head of the Department of Dental Anatomy remains pending before the Kerala High Court.
