‘Fake apps made my life a living hell’: Shamli trader duped of Rs 2 lakh online, dies by suicide

Superintendent of Police, Shamli, Narendra Pratap Singh said Bilal’s family approached them after accessing his mobile phone and discovering threatening messages, along with repeated calls demanding money. “The family found a video in which his face had been morphed. So far, we have found that around Rs 2 lakh was paid to an individual. The case appears to be one of honey trap,” Singh said.

“The incident is suspected to be linked to an app, and while some calling numbers displayed a Pakistan code, we do not believe that to be necessarily accurate,” he added.

In a video doing rounds on social media, Bilal can be purportedly heard saying that “a grave injustice has been done and that no one is responsible” for his death. “I am exhausted and pushed to the brink. These fake apps have turned my life into a living hell,” Bilal can be heard saying.

According to police, Bilal’s family said that after accessing his mobile phone, they began receiving threatening calls from unknown numbers. The callers also sent his morphed obscene images on WhatsApp, demanding money and issuing threats. Further examination of the phone suggested that he had been under pressure from an unidentified person for some time and had already paid some money, police said.

When family members answered the call, the callers allegedly abused them, police said.

Bilal was married with three children. An FIR has been registered at Kandhla police station on a complaint filed by Bilal’s brother, Sohail, and the matter is under investigation, Singh said.