BELAGAVI: The Belagavi police arrested from Surat, the key accused of the cyber fraud case that led to the tragic suicide of an elderly couple in Beedi village of Khanapur taluk.
The accused, Chirag Jeevarajbhai Lakkad, a resident of Surat, Gujarat, was taken into police custody following a detailed investigation.
A case has been registered at Nandgad Police Station. The case revolves around the suicide of Diego Nazareth (83), a retired railway employee, and his wife Flavia Nazareth (78), who resided in the Christian locality of Beedi village.
On March 27, Flavia died by consuming sleeping pills, while Diego ended his life by slashing his neck and drowning in a water tank at their residence.
A death note found at the scene revealed the mental anguish the couple endured. In the note, Diego described receiving repeated threats from an individual posing as a high-ranking official from Delhi Crime Branch.
The caller alleged that obscene content had been sent from Diego’s phone number and threatened to report him to the cybercrime police. The fraudster, identifying himself as Anil Yadav, blackmailed the couple to transfer large sums of money.
Terrified by the threats, Diego ended up transferring over Rs 59 lakh to various bank accounts operated by the cyber criminals. Despite the payments, the threats and extortion continued. Unable to bear the pressure, the couple took their own lives.
Investigations revealed a transaction of Rs 6.10 lakh from Diego’s SBI account to an IDFC Bank account under the name Balaji Industries.
Police traced the mobile number linked to the fraudulent account, leading to the arrest of Chirag Lakkad. The accused had used the number to divert funds to multiple accounts.
According to a senior police officer from the Cyber Crime Branch, Belagavi, Veeresh Doddamani, the accused, was threatening the couple from a different mobile number and was using another SIM in the name of Balaji Industries, which was linked to a bank account in Rajkot.
In the first go, the accused succeeded in making the couple transfer Rs 6.10 lakh via RTGS to the bank account in Rajkot, said Doddamani.
The accused kept his phone switched off while the couple transferred money to the bank account in Rajkot to which the SIM in the name of Balaji Industries was linked.
Doddamani said during the investigation, it came to light that the accused and other cyber criminals, allegedly involved in the crime, were on a video call with the couple for at least 10 hours at a stretch once. They were able to make the couple transfer at least Rs. 59 lakh to 21 different bank accounts online, mostly through Paytm and PhonePe, the police officer added.
The police found that one of the accused had threatened the couple claiming himself as a police officer from the Delhi Crime Branch and had said that someone purchased a SIM card in their name and shared nude pictures with many people on WhatsApp through it.
The police have seized two mobile phones used in the fraud from the arrested accused. District Superintendent of Police Dr Bhimashankar Guled confirmed the arrest and stated that the accused has been remanded to judicial custody.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)