Kannur Dental Student’s Death: Cyber Police Books Loan App Operators for Extortion and Harassment
Kannur, April 13, 2026 — In a major development surrounding the tragic death of a 22-year-old dental student in Kannur, Kerala, the Cyber Police registered a case on Sunday night against unidentified operators of an online loan application.
The case was initiated following a complaint from an assistant professor at the Kannur Dental College in Anjarakandy, who reported receiving severe threats and harassment from the loan app’s recovery agents.
The Loan App Trap
The deceased, identified as Nithin Raj R L, was a first-year BDS student and a native of Uzhamalackal, Puthukulangara in the Thiruvananthapuram district. On the afternoon of April 10, Raj was found critically injured near the medical college block after reportedly falling from a building. He was immediately rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
According to police officials, the investigation uncovered that Raj had borrowed ₹14,000 through a digital loan app. As his family was facing financial difficulties, Raj was unable to meet the immediate repayment demand of ₹8,000 and had sought a few weeks’ extension to clear the dues. Chat records recovered from his mobile phone by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) corroborated these requests.
However, following the default, the app operators resorted to aggressive extortion tactics. The First Information Report (FIR) states that the accused began targeting a female assistant professor at the college. The operators contacted the faculty member via WhatsApp and MMS, threatening her over the student’s repayment and allegedly attempting to illegally siphon money from her.
Legal Action and Ongoing Probe
The Kannur Cyber Police have booked the unidentified operators under serious charges. The case has been registered under Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 308(3) (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act (cheating by personation using computer resources).
Authorities are now conducting a thorough forensic examination of Raj’s mobile phone to trace the origins of the fraudulent app. The police will also record a detailed statement from the harassed assistant professor.
Simultaneously, the SIT is probing whether the vicious cycle of threats and harassment from the loan app operators directly drove the young student to suicide.
This loan app angle adds another complex layer to the ongoing investigation. Prior to the cyber complaint, Raj’s family had alleged that he was facing severe emotional harassment from college staff. Based on the family’s allegations, the police had already registered a case against the Head of the Dental Anatomy Department, M K Ram, and Associate Professor K T Sangeetha Nambiar for abetment of suicide and under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The SIT continues to investigate both angles to uncover the full circumstances leading to the tragedy.
