Thane man ‘livestreams’ suicide to ex-girlfriend through video call after tiff

The distressed man made a video call to his girlfriend and told her that he was going to end his life.

A 26-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Ulhasnagar township in Thane after a tiff with his ex-girlfriend and ‘live’ streamed the final moments to her through a video call, police said on Tuesday.

(Illustration: Chetan Patil)

As per the complaint filed by the victim’s father on June 18, the incident took place in Ulhasnagar camp No 5 on May 21 around 4 pm, when Hani Aswani decided to take the extreme step, after being apparently upset over failed love, said PI M G Waghmare of Hill Line police station.

According to Aswanis, their son was in love with a girl from his college and their relationship had been going strong since last six years.

However, things soured between them recently and they decided to part ways following which both got engaged separately, the complaint said. Since then Hani remained disturbed, it said.

On May 21, both the ex-lovers met once again and an altercation ensued after which the victim reached home and hanged himself from the ceiling.

Police said that before committing suicide, a distressed Hani made a video call to his girlfriend and told her that he was going to end his life. He then ‘live’ streamed his death to her.

The suicide came to light only when the father of the victim returned home in the night to see his son hanging.

Initially, police had registered a case of accidental death but after the video was discovered by the victim’s family, they approached the police with a complaint.

Now, an offence has been registered under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC against Hani’s girlfriend, police said.

However, no arrests have been made so far in the case as investigations are underway, police added.