Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah writer Abhishek Makwana dies by suicide, family suspects blackmail

Abhishek Makwana, one of the writers of popular sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, has died by suicide. His family claimed that he was a victim of cyber fraud and blackmail.

The family also claimed to have been receiving threatening phone calls from people, demanding that they pay back the loans that Abhishek had allegedly taken out.

According to a Mumbai Mirror report, Abhishek was found hanging in his Mumbai flat on November 27, and his suicide note mentioned financial troubles. His brother, Jenis, was quoted in the report as saying that he became aware of these issues after Abhishek’s death, when he began receiving phone calls.

He said, “I checked my brother’s mails because ever since he passed away, I got multiple phone calls from different numbers demanding to be paid back loans he owed someone. One call was a number registered in Bangladesh, one in Myanmar and others were from different states of India.”

Jenis added, “From what I understood from the email records, my brother first took a small loan from one of the ‘easy loan’ apps that charge a very high rate of interest. I looked at the transactions between them and my brother closely after that. I noticed that they kept sending small amounts despite my brother not applying for the loans. Their interest rates are as high as 30%.”

An official from the Charkop police station, where the case has been registered, said that the family has provided the phone numbers to the police, and that investigation is being conducted into the deceased bank transactions.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

Follow @htshowbiz for more