Bengaluru | A 48-year-old Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) employee died by suicide after he allegedly fell prey to a "digital arrest" scam, losing Rs 11 lakh, police said on Wednesday.
Kumar K, who was employed on a contractual basis with BESCOM, hailed from Kelagere village in Channapatna taluk in Bengaluru South district, they said.
He was found hanging from a tree in his village on Tuesday, police said.
In the purported suicide note recovered from the spot, he has cited his health issues and harrasment by cyber fraudster in the name of digital arrest as the reason behind him taking the extreme step.
Digital arrest is a term used in cyber frauds where victims are falsely told they are under surveillance or legal custody through digital means. They are often isolated via continuous video or call surveillance by fraudsters posing as officials, and manipulated into following instructions without alerting others - often leading to extortion or fraud.
According to the police, in the death note, Kumar stated that he received a call from a man named Vikram Goswami who claimed to be a CBI officer and threatened him of digital arrest. The fraudster claimed he had an arrest warrant against Kumar and demanded money to evade digital arrest.
Owing to alleged harassment and fear of being arrested, Kumar initially deposited Rs 1.95 lakh as per the demands of the fraudster. However, he kept demanding more money, a senior police officer said, citing the note.
In total, Kumar claimed to have transferred Rs 11 lakh into several bank accounts as instructed by the fraudsters, he said.
M K Doddi police in Channapatna are investigating the matter and are looking into the allegations levelled by Kumar, the officer said.
"Only after analysing the bank transaction details of Kumar, we will be able to ascertain the exact amount that was transferred," he said.
Kumar is survived by his wife and an eight-year-old son, police added.
