Two more loan app cases with Nepal link come to the fore

The victims had to give the app access to their contacts as it was mandatory to get a loan. Representation pic

Two more FIRs have been filed over harassment by loan recovery agents in the city and in both cases, a Nepal connection has been established. Of the two cases, one was filed by advocate Salman Khan with the Oshiwara police on Tuesday and the other was filed by a 21-year-old woman at Juhu police station on June 18. In both the cases, the accused had harassed the borrowers over phone and shared their morphed photos with their contacts.

Both the complainants shared the contact number of their harassers with mid-day, following which this correspondent found that the numbers are from Nepal.

In the first case, Advocate Khan said that he had taken the loan after his friend faced harassment. "A friend of mine had taken a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh from one such app and was harassed by the recovery agents. But it stopped after he repaid the amount. I was really angry and wanted to check, hence I took a loan of Rs 6,825 from one such app named Strong Cash on June 17 and agreed to pay an interest of Rs 3,675," he told mid-day and added that he had to agree to give the app access to his contacts and it was mandatory.

He started getting calls from recovery agents from Tuesday and was told that his morphed photo would be shared with his contacts if he fails to repay. "Early on Tuesday I got a call from my sister who had received a morphed photo of me on her WhatsApp. I had received a similar message, but when I called the number, the person started abusing me and threatened to share the photos with more people from my contacts," he said, adding that some of his other relatives and friends have also received such messages.

In the other case, the victim woman's mother contacted mid-day, seeking help. The victim said that she was in need of money in May and had applied for a loan on more than 31 apps. Only two of them actually sanctioned loans - one of Rs 3,500 and the other of Rs 10,000.

She alleged that despite only two apps disbursing the loan, she got calls from recovery agents of all the apps and that her photos were morphed and shared with her contacts. She has paid a total of Rs 1.47 lakh so far, but the harassment has not stopped.

It was only after the woman narrated the ordeal to her mother, that she took her to the police station to file a complaint and contacted mid-day.

"My daughter's mental health is suffering due to the incessant harassment. I urge the police and the government to take strict action against the accused," the mother told mid-day. The victim said, "My morphed photo was shared with my colleagues too, who asked if it was a real photo. I had to quit my job due to the embarrassment and haven't even left home in three weeks. Every morning I wake up to see around 100 missed calls and as many messages."

"I used up all my savings to pay the recovery agents, and yet they keep calling, asking me to pay Rs 1,000 or Rs 2,000 to settle the matter," the 21-year-old said.

Rs 6,825
Loan taken by a advocate, Salman Khan