Mumbai: On Monday, a 36-year-old railway employee working at the Matunga Railway Workshop died by suicide. A suicide note found on the deceased's body revealed that he was a victim of sextortion and had been threatened by three individuals regarding the uploading of certain videos on YouTube.
The deceased, identified as Jagdish Keshav Dabhi, resided in Dombivli with his mother (56), wife Usha (37), and two children. According to Usha, her husband leaves for work daily at 6 am, as his work shift is from 8 am to 4 pm. On Monday, following his usual routine, he left for work at 6 am. Usha stated that she called her husband around 10:30 am to discuss a school-related matter concerning their child. Jagdish, however, informed her that he was occupied and would call her back later.
Victim had met woman trying to extort him on Facebook
At 3:30 pm, Usha received a call from a police officer who identified himself as being from Dadar Railway Police. The officer informed her that her husband Jagdish had been involved in an accident and was taken to Sion Hospital. Upon reaching the hospital, she was directed to the mortuary to identify her husband.
The police then provided a note that had been found in Jagdish's pants pocket. In the letter, Jagdish mentioned a woman he had met on Facebook who had recorded inappropriate videos of him. She threatened to upload these videos on YouTube to defame him. Initially, Jagdish ignored these threats, but the woman subsequently claimed to be a Cyber Crime Branch officer from Delhi and threatened to file a case against him. Jagdish mentioned in the note that he had paid varying amounts, totaling Rs. 2 lakhs, to the woman. However, the demands for money continued to increase. Feeling unable to pay more and overwhelmed with guilt at facing his wife and children, Jagdish stated in the note that he saw no option but to take his own life.
CCTV footage of Matunga platform accessed by police
According to Dadar Railway police, they have the CCTV camera footage of the Matunga platform from where Jagdish jumped on the tracks. After registering a case against three persons, one woman, one man who posed as a Cyber Crime Branch officer from Delhi, and another man who claimed to be a YouTuber – who helped the woman to upload a video on YouTube. However, police officials suspect it could be a case of extortion, or cyber fraud and hence they have started probing the matter. The phone numbers of all the calls that have been received and made from the deceased victim’s numbers are being scrutinized, said the police. All three are booked for abetment to suicide and extortion under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and section 66 (e) (violation of privacy) of the Information Technology Act.
Suicide Prevention Helpline no. | AASRA
