‘I was trapped’: Bhopal couple kill 2 sons, die suicide after online fraud

BHOPAL: A 38-year-old man and his wife, 35, died suicide after killing their two children in Bhopal on Thursday, police said. The man and his 35-year-old wife were found hanging at home. Their two sons, aged 9 and 3, were found also dead, possibly given poison mixed in a cold drink. The man’s brother recalled that his brother put out a message that his phone had been hacked but said he didn’t share what exactly happened (Getty Images/ockphoto) The man left behind a four-page suicide note in which he shared the ordeal of being trapped and blackmailed with his phone and laptop hacked, said Sai Krishna Thota, deputy commissioner of police, Bhopal. In the note, the man said that he wanted to apologise to his family, and those he had upset because of one make he had made. It said that he was sent a message in April offering him an online job, an offer that was then reiterated on Telegram. He responded and agreed to do the “extra work” to earn some “extra money.” “I got a little benefit in the beginning but later, I was trapped,” the man said in his suicide note, according to the police. He said that the company kept pressing him for loans and other such agreements and with debt increasing, he began to be threatened. The note also alleges that his phone was hacked, personal details extracted, which were then used to blackmail him. Thota said, “When he downloaded the mobile application of the company, he gave access to his contacts and photos. The company accessed the data and made obscene videos and started sending them to all his contacts. The victim had taken a loan of ₹17 lakh from the company that he used to reinvest in the company. We are investigating.” The note also said that he attempted to complain to the cyber cell but he couldn’t reach the senior officers. The man said he wasn’t comfortable revealing the details to junior staffers. The man’s brother recalled that his brother put out a message that his phone had been hacked and that he wasn’t sharing the obscene videos.“But he didn’t share what exactly had happened.” If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health special. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918, Roshni Foundation (Secunderabad) Contact Nos: 040-66202001, 040-66202000, ONE LIFE: Contact No: 78930 78930, SEVA: Contact No: 09441778290 ABOUT THE AUTHOR She is a senior reporter based at Bhopal. She covers higher education, social issues, youth affairs, woman and child development related issues, sports and business & industries. …view detail