YouTuber arrested after popular Indian finance influencer's suicide

V Harish ran a hugely popular Instagram handle called "Finance with Harish"

A 27-year-old finance influencer's suicide in India has been mired in accusations of cyberbullying and started a conversation around who should give financial advice to investors.

V Harish - who ran a hugely popular Instagram account called "Finance with Harish" - was found dead on Tuesday morning at his home near Chennai, capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

His suicide came just weeks after his account was disabled by Meta after complaints of irregularities.

In a complaint lodged with the police, his father J Vinayagam has allegedly that his son took his life because of online harassment by Jason Samuel, a YouTuber and CEO of tech-centric venture studio Zemuria.

Police arrested Samuel on Thursday under suspicion of trying to "extort money from Harish" and posting "defamatory videos against him on social media".

BBC Tamil has not been able to reach him for comment. Earlier, he denier wrongdoing in a post on X.

The case has brought into focus the growing influence of financial content creators in India, where millions of first-time investors increasingly turn to social media for market advice.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)