In a shocking twist to the Pune Metro suicide case, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police have arrested two BSc students and booked four others on charges of criminal conspiracy, extortion and abetting the suicide of Sujal Sunil Mankar (21), who jumped to his death from the elevated Sant Tukaram Nagar Metro station on February 24.
Mankar, who hailed from Khed in Pune district, was pursuing a Bachelor of Computer Science (BCS) degree at Dr DY Patil College in Pimpri. According to the police, he attempted suicide by jumping from the metro station around 6pm. He was admitted to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) in critical condition but succumbed to his injuries during treatment. While it was earlier believed that the 21-year-old died by suicide due to financial problems and family pressure, the police investigation has revealed shocking details.
According to the police, a week before the suicide, the six accused students called Mankar to a rented room of one of them at Maheshnagar. There, they forced him to remove his clothes and photographed him. Later, they demanded money to prevent the photographs from being uploaded on social media. Mankar paid Rs 35,000 of the Rs 50,000 demanded but was under pressure to pay the remaining amount, which eventually led to his suicide.
The police added that the prime suspect in this case had created a profile on a dating app meant for the LGBT community. Mankar also had a profile on the app. After befriending each other, the suspect lured him to the room where they took nude photographs and subsequently blackmailed him.
Meanwhile, cases of individuals being befriended on LGBT dating apps and later extorted or robbed of cash and gold ornaments are on the rise. Interestingly, such cases aren't just limited to cities like Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad but are also occurring in rural parts of Pune district.
