A 27-year-old finance influencer, V Harish, died by suicide at a villa near Muttukadu earlier this week. He ran the ‘Finance with Harish’ channel on social media and offered investment advice to people.
A 27-year-old finance influencer, V Harish, died by suicide at a villa near Muttukadu on Monday night. His father alleged cyberbullying by another YouTuber, Jason Samuel, in his complaint to police. However, Samuel denied the allegations in a post on X.
Here's what we know about V Harish, the row over his SEBI credentials and the 'cyberbullying' allegation:
Who was V Harish?
V Harish was a YouTuber and finance influencer. He built an audience of more than a million by sharing content on finance and investment on social media over five years. His YouTube channel, ‘Finance with Harish’, and social media accounts had million followers.
Why did V Harish die by suicide?
V Harish, a known face among Tamil content creators, was found dead weeks after his Instagram page and YouTube channel were blocked amid allegations that he offered financial advice without the required SEBI registration.
Harish lived in Muttukadu, on the outskirts of Chennai. Reports say he was staying in a rented villa.
His five-year-old channel was reportedly mass-reported and blocked in September. He subsequently launched a new channel, which police sources said was also reported and blocked, the New India Press reported.
'Cyberbullying'; Harish's video message
Harish's family alleged that another influencer subjected him to sustained online harassment.
According to the Indian Express, Harish's father, J Vinayagam, alleged in a police complaint that the accusations formed part of a campaign of cyberbullying, defamatory posts and threats that caused his son severe mental distress.
The complaint named YouTuber Jason Samuel, who had published videos and posts on October 18, allegedly accusing Harish of misleading the public. Samuel is also the CEO of venture studio Zemuria Inc.
Harish also blamed Samuel for his decision in a video he reportedly recorded before his death, according to his father’s complaint.
In a video uploaded on October 18, Samuel had accused Harish of misleading people by offering financial advisory services without being registered with SEBI as a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA).
Harish claimed that Samuel had threatened to have all his social media accounts blocked and prevent him from opening new ones. Mint could not verify the authenticity of the video.
“If I have committed any wrongdoing, you can question it. And I will answer it, but my five years of hard work are being stolen,” Harish said in the video, as per The News Minute.
Harish reportedly alleged that Jason had tried to extort money from him by claiming to have connections with several politicians in Puducherry and threatening to publish a series of videos against him if he did not pay.
Harish also accused Jason of defaming him and subjecting him to mental harassment.
Vinayagam asked investigators to examine his son’s video, preserve relevant digital evidence and investigate the circumstances in which the accounts were blocked.
No suicide note was recovered. Harish’s body was taken to Chengalpattu Government Hospital for an autopsy.
Police are probing whether online harassment following recent allegations that he was offering financial advice and investment-related services without the SEBI registration may have contributed to his death.
Meanwhile, Kanathur police have registered a case of unnatural death and are examining the allegations made by both sides.
Samuel denies allegation: 'I pointed out his lack of license and authority'
Samuel denied the allegations in a social media post. He said he had questioned Harish’s credentials and his authorisation to provide financial advice.
"I am deeply saddened, heavily grieving, shocked and frozen at what has happened and I mourn the loss of life," he posted on X.
He added, "I have not cyber-bullied him. I pointed out his lack of license and authority, misrepresentation of license and fraud on SEBI and AMFI where he has not got SEBI RIA for his work and misrepresented that he had an AMFI license when he got the ARN only recently. i.e., his illegal activity."