‘Finance With Harish’ influencer dies by suicide, father blames YouTuber Jason Samuel

The suicide of Chennai-based financial influencer V Harish on Tuesday, October 20, has triggered allegations of cyberbullying against another YouTuber, Jason Samuel, who is known for exposing alleged fraud by content creators.Harish, who operated the Instagram account ‘Finance With Harish’ and had over 1.3 million followers, died by suicide at his residence in Muttukadu, Chennai. He was a well-known figure in Tamil Nadu’s content creator community. A few days before his death, Harish’s Instagram account was suspended over allegations of illegal activity.Harish’s father, J Vinayagam, lodged a police complaint alleging that Jason had subjected his son to sustained cyberbullying, defamatory posts and threats, causing him severe mental distress. According to the complaint, Jason published videos and posts on October 18 accusing Harish of fraud and misleading the public.Jason, who has previously called out several content creators, including A2D, Parithabangal and PUBG Madan, had accused Harish of offering financial advice and asking his followers to invest money without being registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Jason alleged that Harish’s activities were illegal and demanded he furnish proof of his registration.However, a video recorded before his death has surfaced in which Harish accused Jason of attempting to extort money from him.“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.He 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.Harish’s death has drawn condemnation from members of the content creator community, several of whom have alleged that he was driven to suicide by cyberbullying.Meanwhile, Jason denied cyberbullying Harish, saying that he had only questioned the influencer’s credentials and alleged violations of financial regulations.Jason claimed that Harish lacked the necessary SEBI registration to operate as an investment adviser and had misrepresented his credentials in relation to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). He alleged that Harish had falsely claimed to hold an AMFI licence despite obtaining an AMFI Registration Number (ARN) only recently.“I literally asked him in the video to come back and do this with a proper SEBI license. I never intended or expected this drastic measure to happen, and I mourn the loss,” Jason said.