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A couple and their two children committed suicide in Bhopal after the family was allegedly pressured to pay Rs 17 lakh by a loan app company, which gained access to the man’s electronic devices and leaked an objectionable photo to his contact list, police said Thursday.
Police said the deceased couple, aged 38 and 35, were found hanging from a ceiling fan at their residence, and their two sons aged three and nine are suspected to have consumed poison mixed in a cold drink.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bhopal) Sai Krishna Thota said the investigation has revealed that “the children died after they consumed sulfas and their parents were found hanging”.
“In the suicide note that we recovered, it has been stated that they were under a lot of financial stress and had loans to pay, so the man joined an online company… He did not realise that his phone and laptop’s contacts and gallery had been compromised. The company began extorting him with this, because of which they took this extreme step,” Thota said.
In the note, the man wrote that he wanted to apologise to his family and those he had upset because of “one mistake”.
According to the police, the man was sent a message in April offering him an online job – and the offer was reiterated on Telegram. He took up the job to earn some “extra money.”
“I got a little benefit in the beginning, but later, I was trapped,” the purported suicide note reads.
Over the next few months, the man was allegedly coerced into taking loans from the same company, and his debt gradually increased.
He wrote that at one point, when he missed an EMI, the company allegedly “hacked my phone and shared morphed pictures of me with my family members and other contacts”.
He said that he made rounds of the local cyber crime office but due to unavailability of officers, he could not seek proper help.
“I do not see a future for myself and my family. I am no longer fit to show my face to anyone. How will I be able to see my family?” the note states, asking that the family be cremated together.
Around 4 am on Thursday, the man took a selfie with his family and sent it to his niece, telling her that this is their last picture.
“My uncle had been facing a lot of distress… Some time ago, I received an obscene picture on my phone… Later, he messaged everyone that his phone had been hacked,” she said.
The man’s elder brother said: “His phone and laptop were compromised. They used morphed pictures to extort money… they were under tremendous pressure to pay back Rs 17 lakh to the loan app company.”
Police are now combing through the couple’s electronic devices as they try to investigate the company at the centre of the allegations.
“We will take the statement of the family members. A forensic analysis of the phone and laptop will also be undertaken along with an analysis of their bank account statements to find out who the perpetrator is,” Thota said.
Police said the company’s credentials are being verified. “The deceased had claimed that he worked for this loan app company based in Columbia. We are verifying whether this was a genuine company or not. The name of the company is also not clear. A special investigation team has been constituted to investigate these aspects. No FIR has been registered so far,” the DCP said.
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