A 48-year-old Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) employee died by suicide Tuesday after allegedly losing Rs 11 lakh to a digital arrest scam on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Kumara K, a resident of HSR Layout in Bengaluru and a native of Kelagere village in Ramanagara district, was married and had an eight-year-old son. He was found dead at the Kelegere village in the Channapatna in the Ramanagara district, and a purported suicide note recovered from his pocket revealed that he was a victim of a cybercrime.
According to the probe, it was revealed that two weeks ago, Kumara received a call from someone claiming to be Vikram Goswami of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The caller allegedly threatened that an arrest warrant had been issued against Kumara and demanded money to resolve the matter. While the specific accusations remain unclear, digital arrest scams typically involve false charges of drug smuggling, money laundering, or other serious crimes.
Under stress and fearing for his family’s safety, Kumara initially transferred Rs 1.95 lakh to the fraudster, who allegedly demanded more money as time went on and continued to pressurise him through continuous surveillance threats and house arrest warnings.
Despite paying Rs 11 lakh into bank accounts provided by the fake CBI officer, the fraudster allegedly demanded an additional Rs 2.75 lakh. Kumara’s wife told police that for 15 days before his death, he had been speaking in Hindi over the phone, appearing visibly frightened and distressed.
On the afternoon of July 14, Kumara left his Bengaluru home, telling his wife only that he was visiting his hometown for some work and never returned.
The MK Doddi police in Channapatna Rural Circle registered a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 108 (abetment of suicide) and initiated a probe.
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An elderly couple in the Belagavi district of Karnataka recently died by suicide in a similar digital arrest case. On March 27, Diogjeron Nazareth, 83, and his wife, Flaviana Nazareth, 78, were found dead at their house.
Diogjeron had left a purported death note, stating that he was trapped by cyber criminals in the disguise of the Mumbai crime branch to extort money. Diogjeron Nazareth allegedly transferred Rs 59.63 lakh to 22 bank accounts across multiple states.
The police later arrested Chirag Jeevaraj Bhai Lakkad, a resident of Surat in Gujarat, in connection with the case.