Bhopal News: Advocate Ends Life After Cyber Conmen Scare Him With ‘Terror Links’ Ploy

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A senior advocate hanged himself at his residence under Jahangirabad police station limits late on Monday night, after cyber conmen scared him, falsely accusing him of financing terrorists in the Pahalgam attack. He was also a BJP leader.

A suicide note recovered from the spot revealed that the advocate was terrified at the prospect of being labelled as ‘anti national’.

According to reports, senior advocate Shivkumar Verma (62) was a resident of Barkhedi area.

His son works in Pune while his wife and daughter are in Delhi for medical treatment.

At the time of the incident, Verma was alone in the house. On Monday night, Verma’s wife called him but he did not respond following which she asked a tenant to check on him. At around 10.30 PM, the tenant found the door of his room bolted from inside. He peeped inside and was shocked to see Verma hanging from the ceiling with a rope.

After informing police, the tenants broke open the door and brought Verma down but he had died by then.

Suicide note mentions threats

Police recovered a suicide note from the room in which advocate Verma mentioned threats from cyber conmen as the reason behind his suicide.

“I am ending my life of my own will. Someone has linked my name with funding the Pahalgam terrorists by opening a fake bank account. I cannot bear the stigma of being called a traitor,” the suicide note said.

He further wrote to his children to stay happy and prayed to Lord Bholenath for their well-being.

Service during Bhopal gas tragedy

In the note, Verma also mentioned that he had performed the last rites of hundreds of Bhopal gas tragedy victims. For this, the then chief minister had even provided him an ambulance. He added that he had saved many lives by donating blood nearly 50 times.

Mobile being examined

Police suspect that cyber conmen made the threatening call and attempted to extort money from the advocate by accusing him of having terror links. In-charge at Jahangirabad police station Man Singh said the advocate’s mobile phone was being scanned to identify the number from which he received the call. Moreover, his WhatsApp was also being scanned to check if he received video calls from the scammers.

A similar case surfaced last week in which scammers cheated a retired bank manager of Rs 68 lakh by falsely accusing him of financing terrorists involved in the Delhi bomb blasts. Fearing arrest, he transferred the money into the fraudsters’ account. His son later lodged a complaint with the state cyber cell.