Loan app menace: Harassed by agents, Mumbai man goes missing

Missing Suhas Jagdale

The loan app menace rages on as a 34-year-old man from Taloja, Navi Mumbai, has now gone missing after constant harassment at the hands of loan recovery agents. His family members - mother and sister - are getting rape threats while his photos were morphed and shared with his contacts. Some of the messages sent by the recovery agents also read that the borrower's mother and sister were available for paid sex so that he could repay the loan.

The borrower, Suhas Jagdale, used to work as a delivery person and had been upset since the past few days. His sister told mid-day, "On Friday, a day before he went missing, he told me that he downloaded one app, following which he started getting messages asking him to repay a loan. He left on Saturday morning saying that he would return in two days. But he has not returned and his number is also switched off. We have registered a missing report with Taloja police."

Also read: Now, handbook for Mumbai cops on dealing with loan apps

The borrower's sister has urged Navi Mumbai police to take note of their plight and put an end to the nightmare. Representation pic

When asked about the harassment, she said, "Even I am getting abusive messages. They are sending messages to others saying that my mother and I are available for sex. I can't even begin to tell you about the trauma we are going through."

She added that some of their relatives also received messages that read that Jagdale raped a minor girl and ran away. Another message, which had a morphed photo of Jagdale, read that he was looking to have sex with men for money. In yet another message, the agents even wrote that Jagdale had mentioned the recipient of the message as emergency contact and hence, if Jagdale fails to repay the loan, the recipient would have to.

"I urge police to take serious note of this and help us locate our brother and put an end to this nightmare," she said.

Jitendra Sonawane, senior inspector at Taloja police station, said, "We have already registered a missing complaint and are working to locate him. We will also register an FIR based on the abusive and vulgar messages received by the missing person's sister."