Elderly Karnataka Couple Falls Prey To Cyber Fraud, Dies By Suicide After Losing Over Rs 50 Lakh
According to the police, DS Nazareth received messages from an unknown person that his ID card was being misused by other cybercriminals and he must contact the “crime branch”
In a tragic incident in Karnataka’s Belagavi, an elderly couple ended their lives after falling prey to cyber fraud and losing over Rs 50 lakh.
DS Nazareth (81) and his wife Flaviana Nazareth (79), residents of Beedi village in Belagavi, died by suicide on Thursday, leaving behind detailed death notes.
related stories
According to the police, DS Nazareth received messages from an unknown person that his ID card was being misused by other cybercriminals and he must contact the crime branch.
“According to messages accessed from Nazareth’s phone, the cybercriminals asked him to contact the crime branch and he complied. Prima facie, it appears that these ‘crime branch’ people threatened the couple and extorted more money out of them," said Belagavi SP Bheemashankar Guled.
While Nazareth detailed the cyber fraud episode in the death note, he mentioned that “nobody is involved because we were happy and self-sufficient". The same note mentions that they owed several lakhs to others and the jewellery his wife owned should be pawned off to repay these loans.
The Nandagada Police have registered a cybercrime case under the IT Act, while an abetment to suicide case has also been registered based on the names mentioned in the death note. The Belagavi SP said that the district CEN Crime Police Station would probe the case to trace the accused.
If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)
- Location :
- First Published: