A Chennai-based YouTuber has been arrested for allegedly extorting and threatening a 27-year-old social media influencer who was later found dead at his residence, police said on Thursday.
The influencer, who hailed from Puducherry and had more than 1.4 million followers, was found dead at his rented home in Chennai on October 20. Police are investigating the death as a suspected suicide.
The accused, Jason Samuel Vijayakumar, 30, allegedly posted defamatory videos targeting the influencer and threatened him in an attempt to extort money, a police official said.
The accused also allegedly got the influencer's social media accounts blocked by Meta, the official said.
According to the police, the influencer was facing pressure over his financial advice content, which he was allegedly accused of sharing without a licence from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
“He was under severe mental stress due to this and allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself at his residence on October 20,” the official said.
A case was registered at Kanathur police station under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with abetment of suicide, following a complaint by the victim's father.
Police said witness statements and documents collected during the investigation pointed to Vijayakumar's alleged role in the circumstances leading to the death.
Vijayakumar was arrested on Thursday and remanded in judicial custody by a judicial magistrate after being produced before the court.