Probe reveals sextortion drove man to suicide

According to the police, the man died by hanging at his residence around 5.45 pm on January 7, 2026. At the time, the Kolsewadi police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR)

THANE: A police investigation into the suicide of a 45-year-old man from Kalyan East in January has revealed that he was allegedly driven to end his life after months of harassment and sextortion threats by cyber criminals who threatened to circulate morphed obscene images of him on social media.

"The two most replicated, robust factors linked to suicide are economic change — downturn — and social disconnection," says Dr. Roger McIntyre, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto. And both factors, he notes, are major hallmarks of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Getty Images)

Following the findings, the Kolsewadi police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unidentified individuals for extortion and abetment to suicide.

According to the police, the man died by hanging at his residence around 5.45 pm on January 7, 2026. At the time, the Kolsewadi police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR).

However, suspecting foul play behind the sudden death, the deceased’s elder brother began making inquiries among his brother’s friends. During the course of these inquiries, one of the victim’s friends revealed that on January 5, just two days before the incident, the deceased had called him seeking a loan of ₹1.40 lakh.

The victim reportedly told his friend that he urgently needed to arrange ₹2 lakh but had only ₹40,000 in his bank account. He had also said he would be in “deep trouble” if he failed to make the payment. The friend later said he suspected that the deceased might have fallen victim to cyber fraud.

Acting on this suspicion, the elder brother accessed the deceased’s email account, where he found an email dated April 10, 2025, sent by the victim to an unknown person stating that he had already transferred ₹15,000.

Further examination of the deceased’s mobile phone revealed WhatsApp chats in which the victim had been repeatedly threatened by the fraudsters. The chats contained screenshots of morphed obscene images of the victim along with persistent demands for money.

The accused allegedly warned that the images would be circulated on social media platforms if the victim failed to pay the demanded amounts.

Police also analysed the victim’s bank statements, which showed that substantial amounts of money had been transferred to multiple unknown bank accounts between April 10, 2025, and January 6, 2026, a day before his death.

Hemant Gurao, senior police inspector at Kolsewadi police station, said, “We have converted the initial ADR into an FIR. A case has been registered under Sections 67(A) and 66(E) of the Information Technology Act along with Sections 108 and 308(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further investigation is underway to trace the accused through their digital footprints.”