Elderly Couple Dies By Suicide After Losing Rs 50 Lakh To Cyber Fraud: 'We Have No One To Support Us'

The death note said that two men posing as telecom department and crime branch officials alleged that a SIM card purchased under one of the victim's name was being used for illegal advertisements.

An elderly couple from Karnataka's Belagavi died by suicide after losing Rs 50 lakh to cyber fraud.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

An elderly couple in Karnataka's Belagavi district died by suicide after losing Rs 50 lakh in cyber fraud and alleged harassment. The couple left a two-page handwritten death note, stating their decision to end their lives and explaining the reason behind taking the drastic step.

Diogjeron Santan Nazareth (82) and his wife Flaviana (79), residents of Beedi village in Khanapur, had no children. Diogjeron was a retired Maharashtra government secretariat employee.

The incident came to light on Thursday after neighbours discovered Flaviana lying lifeless on the bed. Diogjeron’s body was discovered in the underground water tank of their house. He is believed to have died by stabbing himself in the neck. Injuries were also found on his wrist, news agency PTI reported citing police official. 

Flaviana is suspected to have consumed poison, though the actual reasons will be confirmed in the autopsy report.

Diogjeron, in the death note, said they did not want to live at the mercy of anyone and requested that no one should be blamed for their death. 

What The Death Note Said

Diogjeron named two individuals —Sumit Birra and Anil Yadav in the note. He wrote that he was approached by Birra, who posed as a telecom department official from New Delhi. He was told by him that a SIM card had been fraudulently purchased in his name, and was being used for harassment and illegal advertisements. Later the call was transferred to Yadav, who claimed to be a Crime Branch official.

Yadav then demanded Diogjeron's property and financial details, threatening him of legal consequences against him over the alleged SIM card misuse, the death note said.

Diogjeron fell prey to the scam and ended up transferring more than Rs 50 lakh to the duo. However, they did not stop there and continued to demand more money citing digital transaction records, PTI reported citing police.

He also mentioned taking a gold loan of Rs 7.15 lakh, with interest due on June 4.

"The amount should be paid, and the gold should be sold. The amount received after adjusting the principal and interest should be paid to the named persons," the note read.

The note further stated that Diogjeron had borrowed money from friends, requesting that the sum be repaid by selling his wife's gold bangles and earrings.

"Now I am 82 years old, and my wife is 79. We have no one to support us. We do not want to live at the mercy of anyone, so we have taken this decision," the note said.

The couple also expressed their last wish for their bodies to be donated to a medical institution for study.

Diogjeron's mobile phone, the knife, and the suicide note have been taken into custody by the police as part of the investigation. Belagavi Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled said that a case of abetment to suicide and cyber fraud has been registered against the two accused named in the death note.

Further investigation is underway.