NAVI MUMBAI: In yet another tragic case, a digital cyberfraud pushed his victim to die by suicide. When a 36-year-old woman was defrauded of over ₹5.3 crore over two years, the months of financial and mental pressure drove her to take her life on October 8. Finally on Friday, the police registered an FIR against the accused and are verifying the money trail and transactions linked to his accounts.
According to the Panvel City Police, the fraud began on July 16, 2023, when the accused identified as Ravi Hareshbhai Bhadka, a resident of Surendranagar, Gujarat got in touch with the deceased victim. On October 8, the woman’s father, a 65-year-old Kharghar resident filed a complaint that his daughter had died by suicide at her house in New Panvel.
The father told the police that the accused had approached the family claiming he could help them earn high profits from investments in forex trading. At first the accused gained the family’s trust by offering timely returns on small investments. He then persuaded them to invest larger sums, collecting a total of ₹5.3 crore from them, said the police.
The father told the police that the fraud had mentally harassed his daughter, pressured her and frequently contacted her to transfer money to his own and other linked accounts. The police said that once the money was transferred, the accused stopped offering any returns and instead began demanding more money from the victim. As per the police report, the ongoing harassment and betrayal led his daughter into a state of severe distress, ultimately driving her to take her own life.
The police said they have registered an FIR against the accused under sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The police added that they are now tracing the money trail and verifying bank transactions linked to the accused. “We have identified multiple accounts where the victim transferred funds. The accused will be interrogated and further action will be taken based on the evidence,” a senior police officer said.