A 23-year-old working in the loan recovery department of a finance company allegedly harassed a loan defaulter by sending obscene messages and morphing images of his wife, which he circulated through a fake social media profile portraying her as a sex worker.

Police said the arrested accused, Tushar Salunkhe, a resident of Navi Mumbai, earned a monthly salary of Rs 18,000. Apart from this, he received incentives based on the amount recovered from loan defaulters, a practice that often pushes recovery agents to cross ethical and legal boundaries.

According to the police sources, the victim — a 31-year-old real estate agent from Borivli — had taken a personal loan of R1.5 lakh via a mobile app in December 2024 but defaulted on payments due to financial issues. On October 25, the accused called and threatened him, saying that if he failed to pay, he would defame him online.

Salunkhe then allegedly created a fake Instagram account resembling the victim’s profile, uploading morphed photos and videos of the victim and his wife, and even linked the woman’s photos with pornographic content. These obscene visuals were circulated to the victim’s relatives and contacts through WhatsApp and social media, causing severe distress to the family.

Police action

Following the complaint, under the guidance of DCP Zone XI Sandeep Jadhav and Senior Inspector Madhusudan Naik, with Cyber Unit in-charge PSI Kalyan Patil of Borivli police station, traced the accused through his mobile number. Realising the gravity of his offence after receiving a call from the police, Salunkhe surrendered himself at the police station and confessed.

“During interrogation, the accused admitted his mistake and stated that his poor financial condition and the lure of incentives led him to commit the act,” said a police officer.

Investigators revealed that many recovery agents resort to harassment, threats, and defamation tactics to pressure defaulters, including sending morphed pornographic images to friends and relatives. In previous cases across the country, such harassment has even driven some victims to suicide.

However, in this instance, the victim approached the police instead of taking an extreme step.

“We are now verifying whether Salunkhe used similar methods to harass or defame other borrowers. Since the offence falls under provisions carrying a punishment of less than seven years under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Salunkhe was issued a notice and released, with instructions to cooperate in the ongoing investigation,” said an officer. 

Oct 25
Day accused threatened victim over phone

Source