Two booked for abetting railway employee’s suicide in Virar

While the police initially treated the death as suspicious, they are now probing it as a suicide based on a complaint by the victim’s brother. A case was registered against Rakesh Tiwari and Aslam Shaikh, who had allegedly been extorting money from the victim and subjecting him to sustained mental harassment.

Mumbai: Two men have been booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of a railway employee by blackmailing and threatening to implicate him in a false case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Two booked for abetting railway employee’s suicide in Virar

The deceased, an Indian Railways employee, was found lying in a pool of blood with a deep neck wound at his home in Virar on May 13.

While the police initially treated the death as suspicious, they are now probing it as a suicide based on a complaint by the victim’s brother. A case was registered against Rakesh Tiwari and Aslam Shaikh, who had allegedly been extorting money from the victim and subjecting him to sustained mental harassment.

According to the complaint, the accused allegedly demanded ₹5 lakh from the deceased while threatening to falsely implicate him in a POCSO case. He also alleged that the men assaulted him and forced him to consume alcohol.

The deceased had allegedly called his brother shortly before the incident and said he was scared and under severe stress due to the threats, family members told police. The family further alleged that Tiwari posed as a journalist and used that influence to intimidate the deceased.

“Call records, mobile chats and other evidence are being examined. The exact cause of death is also being investigated through the postmortem and forensic reports,” a police officer said.