Finance Influencer Harish Kills Self In Chennai; Father Alleges Cyberbullying By Venture Studio CEO

V Harish, a 27-year-old finance influencer who ran the popular social media brand ‘Finance With Harish’ on Instagram and YouTube, has died by suicide in Chennai. His father has alleged that cyberbullying by the CEO of a venture studio contributed to the distress faced by his son and has demanded a police investigation.

Harish, who had more than 1.3 million followers on Instagram, was found hanging at his rented villa in Chennai. His death followed an online dispute with Jason Samuel, CEO of venture studio Zemuria Inc., over allegations concerning Harish’s investment advisory credentials.

The police are yet to register a case in connection with the death.

Father Alleges Online Targeting

Harish’s father has alleged that Samuel targeted his son, leaving him under considerable stress. According to the father, Harish’s Instagram account was disabled by Meta following Samuel’s allegations, after which the influencer began releasing videos through a new handle.

The father has claimed that the online dispute and the resulting stress contributed to Harish taking his own life. He has sought a police investigation into the circumstances surrounding his son’s death.

These allegations have not yet been established through a police investigation.

CEO Denies Cyberbullying, Cites Investment Credentials

Responding to Harish’s death in a post on X on Tuesday evening, Samuel said he was shocked by the news and denied cyberbullying the influencer. He maintained that his criticism concerned what he described as the misrepresentation of professional credentials.

Samuel claimed that Harish was not a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-registered Investment Adviser (RIA) and had obtained his Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) Registration Number (ARN) only recently.

In his post, Samuel said he was “deeply saddened, heavily grieving, shocked and frozen” by the death and that he mourned the loss of life.

“I have not cyber-bullied him. I pointed out his lack of licence and authority, misrepresentation of licence and fraud on SEBI and AMFI where he has not got SEBI RIA for his work and misrepresented that he had an AMFI license when he got the ARN only recently. i.e., his illegal activity,” he wrote.

Samuel Says He Asked Harish To Obtain Proper Licence

Samuel further said that he had asked Harish to resume his work with the appropriate SEBI registration, claiming that he had not intended or expected the dispute to end in such a tragedy.

“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,” Samuel added.

The allegations concerning Harish’s credentials and the competing claims over the online dispute have not been independently established in connection with his death.

Police Yet To Register Case

With Harish’s father seeking an investigation, the circumstances surrounding the influencer’s death and the alleged online harassment remain to be examined. As of the latest information available, the police are yet to register a case in connection with the death.