Shamed by lending app bullies, 22-year-old auto driver jumps off Airoli bridge

Yogesh Mane

A youth, who had recently started driving an autorickshaw to assist his father who was the sole bread-winner of the family, jumped off the Airoli bridge after days of consistently being harassed and humiliated by money lenders. The Rabale police found Yogesh Mane's body in Thane Creek on December 22. His family learnt about the harassment only after switching on his phone, and filed a complaint with the Mulund police on Monday. But, no offence has been registered as yet.

Yogesh Anand Mane, 22, who lived with his parents and sister at Rohidas Nagar, Mulund West, had recently completed his industrial technical studies. However, he couldn't find a job and decided to drive an auto. His father, Anand Mane, bought an auto for him in November and told him to manage funds for the vehicle's registration, etc.

The screenshots of some of the messages in the WhatsApp group

He had lent around Rs 47,000 from some app-based providers, but was struggling to pay them back. The lenders called and messaged him for days, and even created a WhatsApp group with his friends and kin.

"On December 19, he was running a high fever and my mother took him to a doctor," said Yogesh's sister Vanita Mane. "They returned around 12.30 pm, but he went out again."

Family of Yogesh Mane, with his photo and a copy of their police complaint. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

By evening, the worried family rushed to the Mulund police station and filed a missing person report. On December 22, Anil Zolekar, the vice-president of Maharashtra Navnirman Vhatuk Sena, received a call from Rabale police.

"Yogesh had recently joined our organisation. Rabale police called me to enquire about him, and told me that they have found his body in Thane Creek, along with his Aadhaar and membership cards," Zolekar said. Rabale police informed the family, too, and filed an Accidental Death Report.

A few days later, the family switched on Yogesh's mobile phone and received a flood of WhatsApp messages and missed call notifications. They also got calls and learnt about the loans.

"There were six money-lending apps on his phone and their executives were calling and messaging him. I found one WhatsApp group named 'Defaulter Yogesh Anand' and some of his friends and kin were added," said Vanita. "I found messages where my brother was begging the lenders to not make the matter public and to not form the WhatsApp group. But they didn't pay any heed to his requests, which forced my brother to take his life," she added.

Rs 47k
Amount Mane borrowed