A SENIORadvocate committed suicide by hanging himself at his residence under the Jehangirabad police station limits late on Monday night, terrified after being falsely accused of financing terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack. The suicide note recovered by the police from his room revealed that the advocate took the extreme step over the prospect of being labelled an ‘antinational’.

 

According to reports, senior advocate Shivkumar Verma (62) was a resident of the Barkhedi area. He was alone in the house, as his son works in Pune and his wife and daughter had gone to Delhi for medical treatment. On Monday night, Verma’s wife called him, but he did not respond. She then asked a tenant to check on him. Around 10:30 pm, the tenant found the door of Verma’s room bolted from the inside. He peeped inside and was shocked to see Verma hanging from the ceiling by a rope. After informing the police, the tenants broke open the door and brought Verma down from the noose, but he had already passed away.

 

Suicide note reveals cyber fraud threat:Police recovered a suicide note from the room in which advocate Verma cited threats from cyber conmen as the reason behind taking the extreme step. “I am ending my life on my own will. Someone has linked my name with funding the Pahalgam terrorists by opening a fake bank account. I cannot bear the stigma of being called a traitor.” He further wrote a message for his children, asking them to stay happy and praying to Lord Bholenath for their wellbeing. Service during Bhopal Gas Tragedy: In the note, Verma also highlighted his past contributions to society.

 

He mentioned that he had performed the last rites of hundreds of victims during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. For this service, the then Chief Minister had provided him with an ambulance. He added that he had saved many lives by donating blood nearly 50 times. Mobile under examination: Police suspect that the threatening call was made by cyber fraudsters who attempted to extort money from the advocate by falsely linking him to terror activities. Man Singh, In-charge at Jehangirabad Police Station, said the lawyer’s mobile phone is being scanned to identify the number from which he received the call. Furthermore, his WhatsApp data is also being scrutinised to check if he received video calls from the scammers.

 

A similar case surfaced last week, in which scammers cheated a retired bank manager of Rs 68 lakh by falsely accusing him of financing terrorists involved in the Delhi bomb blasts. Fearing arrest, he transferred the money into the fraudsters’ account. His son later lodged a complaint with the State Cyber Cel