CHENNAI: Harassment by agents of app-based loan companies went a tad extreme in the city after the agents made a hoax call on Thursday to the police control room, claiming that one of their loan defaulters was making explosives in his house in Mangadu. This sent the police on a wild goose chase, before realising what was cooking.

Police sources said the control room received a call during which the caller, claiming to be calling from Japan, told the official that a person living in Muthamizh Nagar in Mangadu, identified as Kabeer Mohammed, was is making bombs in his house. Before the control room personnel could enquire further, the person disconnected the call.

Mangadu police were alerted immediately, after which a police team was pressed to enquire at the house. On reaching there, police found that Kabeer had vacated the house three years ago and was now staying in Puzhal.

Mangadu police reached out to Kabeer and learnt that he had taken Rs 5 lakh loan through an online loan app to meet his medical expenses. While procuring the loan, he had submitted the house in Mangadu as his address proof.

As Kabeer failed to return the borrowed amount, recovery agents from the company started making calls to him and also to the contacts in his phone that they accessed. Irate that their usual methods were not working out, the agents resorted to making a hoax call to put Kabeer in trouble, police said.

Mangadu police said that they were making efforts to trace the hoax caller.

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