The unchecked proliferation of micro-lending via online loan applications has led to the emergence of new forms of intimidation and harassment targeting borrowers, which mostly result in tragic consequences.
One such recent incident involved a 42-year-old father of two, Muhammad Masood, who died by suicide in the wake of the unbearable pressure inflicted by online loan sharks.
A resident of Rawalpindi, Masood had initially borrowed Rs13,000 through an online application following his unemployment with the aim to pay for his children's school fees and house rent. However, the victim found himself unable to pay the loan back with the accumulating interest, which rapidly escalated to Rs700,000 within a few weeks.
However, Masood was unable to pay back to his lenders and following threats decided to hang himself by a fan leaving his two sons orphaned at a tender age.
The victim's wife said that the reason behind her husband's death was a result of the debt he incurred via the online loan-lending application, which he took after losing his job six months ago. Consequently, he was caught in the trap of interest, she added.
The wife mentioned that the loan was taken through a social media Easy Loan app, which reached up to Rs100,000 after a few days with interest.
As reported by BBC Urdu, Masood's wife said her husband had left her a last message before he died mentioning being harassed by loan sharks.
"I owe a lot of people money, with interest. They have made my life difficult," Masood had written to his wife.
According to the British publication, the victim told his wife that he is neither worthy of her nor his children.
In a video message, BBC Urdu mentioned, the wife said Masood was "blackmailed" by representatives of the loan companies that gave "threats to leak data".
A first information report (FIR) registered by the victim's brother, Muzammil Hussain, at the Race Course Police Station mentioned that he received information about his brother's death by suicide on Monday.
He added that Masood's loan continued to increase; therefore, he decided to die by suicide after being unable to pay back the money with constant pressure of online lending company, the BBC Urdu reported.
Muzammil has filed an application with the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) cybercrime wing to ensure justice is served for his brother and his family's sake.
"My husband got stuck in the mire of debt and became a victim of mental agony," his wife said in the video. Masood advised his wife to keep his mobile phone switched off for at least a month.
She shared that her husband was harassed just a week after taking a loan worth Rs13,000 from the online company and the amount increased to Rs50,000 with interest.
"A week later online companies made life miserable," she alleged.
The representatives of the online companies started blackmailing and threatening. Online companies also threatened to leak personal data from mobile phones, she added.