Social media influencer with 1.4 mn followers found dead in Chennai; suicide suspected

A social media influencer with over 1.4 million followers was found dead at his Chennai home on Tuesday night as police suspect it as a case of suicide.Police said the victim allegedly died by suicide at his residence in Chennai as he was targeted for offering financial advises without the license (PTI/Representative file image)Police said the victim allegedly died by suicide at his residence in the city as he was targeted for offering financial advises without the license from capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).The victim was known for his various videos on social media channels Instagram, YouTube offering financial advice to people in Tamil explaining about making investments in various financial instruments including mutual funds, trading among many others.According to his close friends, he has been engaged in this work over the last five years and has garnered over 1.4 million followers.Also Read:23-year-old man stabs woman, her mother before dying by suicide in Jalandhar“A resident of Kanathur located on the East Coast Road near Chennai, the influencer allegedly died by suicide late on Tuesday”, police said.The body was recovered from his house at Kanathur and has been sent to the district government hospital for an autopsy, police said.What he said in a recent video In one of the last videos uploaded by him, he is seen claiming that he was upset after a complaint was filed against him with the regulator body SEBI.“I have been doing this for the last five years and they (cyber bullying) are allegedly threatening my family by saying I know this chief minister, I know this lawmaker. I can remove all your videos”, he is seen claiming in his video stating that he was ‘mentally harassed’ through the cyber bullying allegedly they were unhappy with his growth.His work has also received a couple of recognitions including being the recipient of the ‘Best Finance Channel’ constituted by the city-based private entity in 2025.Reacting to his death, other social media influencers expressed their condolences.Prawin Ganeshan, a social media user said, “Deeply saddened by reports that the influencer has died by suicide. RIP”.Another social media user Kirubakaran Rajendran said, “(The owner of YouTube channel) with 1.3 million followers on Instagram, one of the biggest finance creators in Tamil Nadu. Gone. I did not know him personally, but I know this world.”Recently, the social media account of Harish on Instagram was removed by Meta Inc as the influencer has been giving financial advice to the members of public without the mandatory recognition from SEBI.Rajendran further said, “From what I understand, his Instagram account was recently taken down by Meta. For a creator that is a huge blow. That is losing years of work, your income, your community and your routine, all gone. Nobody around you fully understands what that does to your head.”Another social media user Kishore K Swamy said, “The YouTube channel chap has taken the extreme step of suicide allegedly because of cyber bullying by another youtuber (Jason Samuel) the CEO of venture studio Zemuria Inc.”Also Read:Haryanvi wrestler dies by suicideResponding to the comment of Swamy, Jason Samuel said, he was deeply saddened, heavily grieving, shocked and frozen at what had happened.In his official social media account on Wednesday, Samuel said, “I have not cyber-bullied him. I pointed out his lack of license and authority, misrepresentation of licence and fraud on SEBI and AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India) where has not got SEBI RIA (SEBI Registered Investment Advisor) for his work and misrepresented that he had an AMFI license when he got the ARN only recently i.e., illegal activity”.Samuel further said, “I 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”.Meanwhile, a case was yet to be registered over the death of the social media influencer by the local police.If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669;Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918,Roshni Foundation (Secunderabad) Contact Nos: 040-66202001, 040-66202000,ONE LIFE: Contact No: 78930 78930, SEVA: Contact No: 09441778290