Published Apr 13, 2026 | 10:41 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 13, 2026 | 10:41 AM
RL Nithin Raj.
Synopsis: In a significant development in the death of BDS student RL Nithin Raj in Kerala, the Kannur City Police Commissioner confirmed a possible link to a loan app. Addressing the media, officials stated that a cyber FIR has been registered at the Cyber Police Station under crime no. 12/26.
In a significant development in the death of BDS student RL Nithin Raj in Kerala, the Kannur City Police Commissioner on Monday, 13 April, confirmed a possible link to a loan app.
Addressing the media, officials stated that a cyber FIR has been registered at the Cyber Police Station under crime no. 12/26.
According to the Commissioner Nidhinraj P, Nithin had availed a loan from a mobile application during the December–January period and had since been receiving repeated calls from the lenders.
The loan agency had also contacted a teacher at his college regarding the repayment, and the teacher reportedly received multiple calls in connection with the dues. Police said this angle requires further investigation to determine whether it contributed to mental distress.
The Commissioner also confirmed that sections under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and abetment to suicide have been added to the existing FIR.
The family of Nithin has disputed emerging accounts linking his death to harassment from an online loan app, asserting that he had already begun repaying the loan and alleging foul play behind the incident.
Nithin’s father, Rajan, told the media that the loan, taken for his mother’s medical treatment while she was hospitalised, was known to the family. He said Nithin had started repaying the amount with their support. “If there were threats from the loan app, the college authorities or the teacher could have informed us,” Rajan said, questioning why such crucial information was not shared earlier.
The family also responded to reports that a teacher at Dental College had received threatening calls from loan recovery agents. Rajan maintained that if the teacher had indeed been threatened, she should have alerted the family directly. He alleged that the college authorities are now “trying to escape by creating narratives that do not exist.”
According to the police, a complaint had been filed by the teacher after receiving repeated calls from loan agents, and a case has been registered at the cyber police station. City Police Commissioner Nidhinraj stated that preliminary findings suggest Nithin had taken a loan through an online app and was subjected to pressure when repayment was delayed.
The police have also learned to have recovered certain chats that turn out to be threatening ones from the side of the loan app.
However, the family remains unconvinced. Rajan reiterated that his son’s death was not a suicide but a “murder,” and demanded a thorough investigation.
He also called on fellow students to come forward with any information about what transpired in the hours leading up to the incident.
Earlier, the police had dismissed the loan app angle. Allegations were also raised that the college authorities initially attempted to mislead the investigation.
On Friday, they suggested that Nithin may have been trapped in a loan app, possibly contributing to his death. However, at that time, police maintained that no evidence of such transactions had been found.
Then, Chakkarakkal Circle Inspector Fakrudeen had stated that no financial activity was detected on Nithin’s mobile phone. The device has now been examined by the cyber police as part of the ongoing probe.
Nithin (19), a first-year BDS student, was found dead under suspicious circumstances on the campus of Anjarakandy Dental College in Kannur on Friday, sparking serious allegations of ragging and harassment.
Speaking to the media, Rajan had alleged that his son had been subjected to continuous harassment by college authorities. “He was mocked by teachers for his dark skin, ridiculed for our work as daily wage labourers and targeted because he belonged to a Scheduled Caste,” he said.
College authorities stated that a student noticed Nithin around 1.15 pm near the medical college block. They also maintained that no formal complaints had been raised either by him or against him before the incident.
Meanwhile, the institution has constituted an internal committee to investigate the matter and has expressed its willingness to fully cooperate with the ongoing police probe.
(With inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman and Dileep V Kumar.)
