YouTuber arrested in India over finance influencer's suicide
Police in Tamil Nadu arrested Jason Samuel after the father of V Harish, a popular finance influencer, alleged cyberbullying led to his suicide.
At a glance
- V Harish, a 27-year-old finance influencer with over 1.3 million Instagram followers, was found dead at his home near Chennai on Tuesday.
- Police arrested YouTuber Jason Samuel on Thursday after Harish's father alleged cyberbullying and defamatory posts led to his son's suicide.
- Meta had disabled Harish's Instagram account in September for not being registered with India's market regulator Sebi.
A 27-year-old Indian finance influencer, V Harish, was found dead at his home near Chennai on Tuesday morning, and police have arrested a YouTuber in connection with the case.
Harish ran a popular Instagram account called 'Finance with Harish,' where he posted more than 1,500 videos and built a following of over 1.3 million. He described himself as a financial adviser to millionaires and high-net-worth individuals.
His father, J Vinayagam, filed a complaint with police alleging that his son took his own life because of online harassment by Jason Samuel, a YouTuber and CEO of tech venture studio Zemuria. Police arrested Samuel on Thursday on suspicion of trying to extort money from Harish and posting defamatory videos about him.
BBC Tamil could not reach Samuel for comment. He earlier denied wrongdoing in a post on X.
The case has drawn attention to the growing role of financial content creators in India, where millions of first-time investors turn to social media for market advice. The National Stock Exchange said earlier this year it had more than 130 million unique investors, up from under 30 million in 2019.
In September, Meta disabled Harish's Instagram page after complaints that he was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), which is required to offer investment advice. A backup account with over 60,000 followers was also taken down.
According to friends and family, Harish recorded a video message before his death in which he said 'five years of hard work has been stolen,' NDTV reported. In the video, he speaks in Tamil and then English, saying 'I'm very sorry' to his parents, sister, friends and followers.
Samuel had posted a video on 18 October questioning Harish's credentials because he lacked Sebi or Amfi registrations. Vinayagam says this triggered severe online harassment.
Police said the complaint was registered under 'abetment to suicide' and preliminary investigations found Samuel had a 'role in this case.' Samuel will be produced before court and sent to judicial custody, according to a police statement.
Samuel defended his video, saying he was acting in the consumer interest. On X, he said he was 'deeply saddened, heavily grieving, shocked and frozen' and mourned the loss of life. He rejected allegations of cyberbullying, saying he pointed out Harish's lack of licence, misrepresentation and fraud, and asked him to return with a proper Sebi licence. 'I never intended or expected this drastic measure to happen,' he wrote.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, support is available via the AASRA website in India or Befrienders Worldwide globally. In the UK, the Samaritans helpline is 116 123.
Source: BBC World.
Questions and answers
- Who was V Harish?
- V Harish was a 27-year-old Indian finance influencer who ran the Instagram account 'Finance with Harish' and had over 1.3 million followers.
- Why was Jason Samuel arrested?
- Police arrested Samuel after Harish's father alleged that Samuel's online harassment and defamatory videos drove his son to suicide. Samuel denies cyberbullying.
- What happened to Harish's Instagram account?
- Meta disabled it in September after complaints that he was not registered with Sebi, India's market regulator, which is required to offer investment advice.
