A 27-year-old finance influencer's suicide in India has become a case study in cyberbullying, regulatory gaps, and the perils of getting stock tips from Instagram. V Harish, who ran the hugely popular "Finance with Harish" account, was found dead on Tuesday morning at his home near Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu. His death came just weeks after Meta disabled his account over complaints of irregularities - because nothing says "financial expertise" like not being registered with the actual regulator.

In a complaint to police, Harish's father J Vinayagam alleged his son took his life due to online harassment by Jason Samuel, a YouTuber and CEO of tech-centric venture studio Zemuria. Police arrested Samuel on Thursday on suspicion of trying to "extort money from Harish" and posting "defamatory videos against him on social media." BBC Tamil could not reach Samuel for comment; he had earlier denied wrongdoing in a post on X. The case has spotlighted the growing influence of financial content creators in India, where millions of first-time investors increasingly turn to social media for market advice - a bit like asking a food blogger to perform surgery.

Harish began posting finance and investing videos about five years ago, building a substantial following. He published more than 1,500 videos and amassed over 1.3 million Instagram followers, describing himself as a financial adviser to "millionaires" and "high-net-worth individuals." He often used music, film clips, and photos of global political leaders to make dramatic videos about the rise and fall of the share market and prices of gold and silver. The videos, which broke down financial issues in simple terms, became hugely popular as they coincided with a rapid expansion in India's retail investor base, especially since the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. The National Stock Exchange said earlier this year it now had more than 130 million unique investors registered, up from under 30 million in 2019.

But in September, Meta took down Harish's Instagram page after receiving complaints that he was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) - which is required by law to offer investment advice or manage client portfolios. A back-up account that gained over 60,000 followers in a short time was also subsequently taken down following complaints from social media users and others. A few other accounts in his name remain on Instagram with much smaller followings, and it's unclear who runs them.

According to friends and family, Harish recorded a video message before his death saying "five years of hard work has been stolen" from him, NDTV reported. The video, widely shared on social media, shows him speaking in Tamil and then switching to English to say "I'm very sorry" to his parents, sister, friends, and followers. Police say Vinayagam blamed "cyberbullying, defamatory social media posts and repeated blocking of his channels" for his son's suicide and named Jason Samuel in the complaint registered at Kanathur police station near Chennai.

Samuel had posted a video on his YouTube channel on 18 October questioning Harish's credentials since he lacked Sebi or Amfi (Association of Mutual Funds in India) registrations. In it, he mentioned that Harish's Instagram account had been disabled following complaints. Vinayagam says this triggered severe online harassment and pressures that drove his son to take his own life. "We demand that a proper investigation be conducted and legal action be taken against Jason Samuel and his accomplices, who spread defamation on social media and caused mental distress through cyberbullying," his complaint states. A police statement says the complaint was registered under "abetment to suicide" and preliminary investigations found Samuel had a "role in this case." "[Samuel] will be produced before court and sent to judicial custody," it says.

Samuel has defended the video flagging Harish's lack of credentials, saying he was acting in the consumer interest. In a statement on X, Samuel said he was "deeply saddened, heavily grieving, shocked and frozen at what has happened and I mourn the loss of life." He rejected allegations of cyberbullying Harish. "I have not cyber-bullied him. I pointed out his lack of licence and authority, misrepresentation of licence and fraud... his illegal activity. I literally asked him in the video to come back and do this with a proper Sebi licence. I never intended or expected this drastic measure to happen and I mourn the loss," he wrote. If you're having thoughts of suicide, or know someone who might be, you can find support lines in India via the AASRA website or globally via Befrienders Worldwide. In the UK, you can call the Samaritans Helpline on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.