Pune: A 22-year-old software engineer allegedly died by suicide after an online fraudster had threatened him repeatedly on the phone to implicate him in a fake drug-related case and have him arrested, causing mental distress, his father told Kharadi police on Wednesday.Acting on the complaint of his father (46), a govt employee and resident of Haridwar in Uttarakhand, police have registered a case of abetment to suicide and criminal intimidation against the suspect.The incident took place in Kharadi on Oct 1, when the techie, originally from Haridwar , allegedly jumped from the terrace of a 22-storey residential building. Police said the software engineer moved to Pune in July after securing his first job at an IT company in Hadapsar following completion of his engineering degree.Kharadi police senior inspector Sanjay Chavan said the techie and the suspect had become friends while playing an online game. The suspect later claimed to be a police officer with the Haryana police, though investigators suspect he was a cyber fraudster. “We examined the CCTV footage of the residential society and found that the techie was walking inside the building. His body was then found at the society’s parking area by a watchman around 6.30 am on Oct 1,” he said. “The suspect posed as a police officer, threatened to implicate him in a fake drug case and repeatedly demanded money from him. An analysis of their chats shows that the techie had transferred some money to the suspect,” Chavan said, adding, “We have received details of the suspect’s mobile phone number, and our team has gone to Haryana to track him down.”According to the FIR, the complainant’s wife received a call on Sept 30 from a man who asked about her son’s whereabouts and demanded to speak to him. The caller initially claimed to be his son’s friend and said they had met while playing an online game. The complainant became suspicious after the caller gave evasive replies and his son’s mobile phone remained switched off. The caller later claimed to be a police officer posted in Gurugram, Haryana, and alleged that the techie was harassing and blackmailing women in Pune. He threatened to arrest him in a drug case and repeatedly demanded his active mobile number, the FIR stated.Concerned about their inability to contact the software engineer, his family approached his maternal uncle, who lives in Moshi. The uncle went to the paying guest accommodation in Kharadi where the techie was staying and found his room open, but he was missing, Chavan said. The uncle then approached the police, who registered a missing-person complaint as a case of abduction on Sept 30, he said.The father told police that he had reached Pune on Oct 1 and learnt that his son had jumped from a residential building around 6.30 am. The techie was taken to Sassoon General Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, Chavan said.The family later examined his laptop and found his WhatsApp activity, screenshots of money transfers to different accounts and suspicious chats involving the online suspect, he said. The father suspects that the threats and demands for money drove his son to take the extreme step.On Oct 13, the father received another call from an unidentified person claiming to be from a courier office and asking about the techie and a parcel being returned. He suspects the accused may have used different mobile numbers to seek information about his son.DJ found dead at residenceIn a separate incident, a 34-year-old disc jockey from Ghorpadi was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his residence on Wednesday evening. His family members had gone out when the incident occurred, Wanowrie police said.The DJ was popular among youngsters and performed at various pubs and other entertainment events, police said. Senior inspector Pandit Rejitwad of Wanowrie police said, “The reason behind the suicide is not known.”
