Two families in the city are still struggling to understand how their loved ones — an ambitious 20-year-old student and a 61-year-old retiree — were both pushed to die by suicide within months of each other, by online frauds that preyed on their financial vulnerability.
What began as small investments and contractual promises ended in deaths — one under the wheels of a speeding train, the other in a Navi Mumbai home.
Student’s dream turned into nightmare
On July 17, a 20-year-old Mass Media and graphic design student was found dead on the railway tracks between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli. His father, a customs officer, still remembers his son’s voice on the phone that morning — tense, desperate, and pleading for help.
Two days earlier, the young man had started trading on what appeared to be a legitimate online investment platform. His first small deposit of ₹1,000 doubled overnight, luring him deeper into the trap. By the time his father discovered the transactions, the student had already transferred ₹80,000 to the fraudulent site.
On July 17, under pressure from the so-called “site managers” on the Telegram app, the student begged his father to send another ₹1 lakh. The scammers promised big returns but threatened that any delay would make him lose his “profits.” When a suspicious bank account caused a transfer to be blocked, his father pleaded with him to stop. But the frauds kept pestering him with calls and messages— until the young man walked out of his home and ended his life.
Police later found hundreds of chat messages filled with psychological manipulation and veiled threats. Four individuals — identified as Govind Ahirrao, Sushilkumar Mishra, Aman Abbas, and Harijit Singh Sandhu — have been booked for abetment to suicide. Investigators are now tracing the bank accounts linked to the online trading ring.
A retiree’s trust betrayed
Just a few months earlier, in Navi Mumbai’s Sanpada area, a 61-year-old retired man faced a similar fate. After being defrauded of ₹1.15 crore by two acquaintances under the pretext of a contractual investment, he was found hanging at his residence on April 7.
The man had left behind a suicide note, naming the two accused from Seawoods-Darave. An initial accidental death inquiry revealed that the funds had been misappropriated — and the prolonged financial dispute had driven him into severe mental anguish. Following the findings, Sanpada Police registered a case of financial fraud, criminal breach of trust, and abetment to suicide on October 13. No arrests have been made yet.
Growing menace
A cybercrime officer said both deaths point to an alarming trend — the emotional and financial violence of digital fraud. From Telegram investment groups to fake contract deals, scammers are now exploiting technology not only to steal money but also to exert psychological control over their victims.
Officers investigating both cases also added that these scams have become increasingly sophisticated. “Frauds use professional-looking apps and real-time profit dashboards to gain trust,” said an officer. “Once a victim is hooked, they are pressured, humiliated, and mentally tortured into paying more.”