Hyderabad: Harish, a 27 year old social media influencer known for sharing financial advice in Tamil was found dead at his residence in Kanathur, near Chennai, on Tuesday night, with police suspecting suicide. His death comes amid controversy over allegations that he offered investment advice without the required registration from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Harish, had amassed more than 1.4 million followers through his social media content on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, where he discussed investments in financial instruments, including mutual funds and trading.
According to his close friends, Harish had been creating financial content for around five years.
Police said his body was recovered from his residence in Kanathur, along the East Coast Road near Chennai, late on Tuesday. It was sent to a district government hospital for an autopsy. A case had not been registered by the local police as of Wednesday.
In one of his last videos, Harish said he was upset after a complaint was filed against him with regulator body SEBI. He also alleged that he had been subjected to cyberbullying and that those targeting him had threatened his family.
“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 said in the video, claiming that he was being mentally harassed by people unhappy with his growth.
Harish had also received recognition for his work, including the ‘Best Finance Channel’ award constituted by a Chennai-based private entity in 2025.
Harish's Instagram account was recently removed by Meta, according to the information provided. The development came amid allegations that he had been offering financial advice to the public without the requisite registration from SEBI.
His death prompted condolences from fellow social media users and content creators.
Prawin Ganeshan expressed sadness over the reports of Harish's death, writing, “Deeply saddened by reports that the influencer has died by suicide. RIP”.
Kirubakaran Rajendran described Harish as one of Tamil Nadu's biggest finance content creators, noting that he had 1.3 million followers on Instagram.
“Gone. I did not know him personally, but I know this world,” Rajendran said.
He also referred to the removal of Harish's Instagram account, saying that losing an account could mean losing years of work, income, a community and a daily routine for a content creator.
Kishore K Swamy, another social media user, alleged that Harish had died by suicide because of cyberbullying by Jason Samuel, the chief executive officer of venture studio Zemuria Inc.
Responding to the allegation, Samuel said he was deeply saddened and grieving over Harish's death. He denied having cyberbullied the influencer.
In a statement posted on his official social media account on Wednesday, Samuel said he had raised concerns about Harish's lack of the required licence and alleged misrepresentation of his credentials to SEBI and the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
Samuel alleged that Harish did not have SEBI Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) registration for his work and had misrepresented his AMFI credentials, claiming to hold an AMFI licence when he got the ARN only recently i.e., illegal activity.
Samuel said he had asked Harish in a video to resume his work with the proper SEBI registration.
“I never intended or expected this drastic measure to happen and I mourn the loss,” Samuel said.
The circumstances surrounding Harish's death and the allegations made by various social media users had not been established by the police as of Wednesday.