Maharashtra: In disturbing news, a 40-year-old agriculture officer, Prashant Patil was a resident of Nashik and posted in Palghar. Patil died by suicide on June 6 after allegedly being defrauded of Rs 56 lakh. The cyber police have registered a case of cheating and abetment to suicide against unidentified cyber fraudsters.
According to Inspector Subhash Dhawale of the cyber police station, Patil consumed a poisonous substance at his Nashik home around 1 a.m. on June 5. He was rushed to a private hospital but succumbed during treatment the next day. The Ambad police had initially recorded it as an accidental death, according to The Times of India report.
The incident took a turn when Patil's wife filed a complaint with the cyber police, stating that her husband had been cheated by online scammers. The cyber police were in the process of registering a First Information Report (FIR) when Patil ended his life.
As per the police investigation, Patil had received a friend request from a woman on a social media platform. After he accepted it, she persuaded him to buy Hapco oil, claiming it was for export. Trusting her, Patil transferred large sums of money to a bank account, but never received the product.
Later, the woman told Patil that the company only processed bulk orders and assured him she would send a parcel containing foreign currency and valuable items. From December 2022 to two months before his death, Patil transferred a total of Rs 56 lakh, raised through selling jewellery and borrowing from friends. The promised parcel never arrived, and the money was not returned, as reported.
When he realised he had been duped and there was no way to recover his losses, Patil took the extreme step of ending his life. Based on his wife's complaint, the cyber police have now registered an FIR under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating, abetment to suicide, and criminal conspiracy, along with relevant provisions.
