Examination of the deceased’s mobile phone revealed that the frauds had cheated him of ₹49,000 and were harassing him for further payments, police said

MUMBAI: The Andheri government railway police (GRP) on Monday booked eight cyber frauds for abetting a 17-year-old boy’s suicide in January this year, after examination of the deceased’s mobile phone revealed that they had cheated him of ₹49,000 and were harassing him for further payments.

According to the GRP, they received information about a boy dying after being hit by a train in Jogeshwari on January 21, and registered an accidental death report (ADR). The same night, the deceased’s father received a call from his friend, who said an ambulance driver had spotted a boy matching the deceased’s description being brought to Cooper Hospital.

The father, a driver with a private firm, rushed to the hospital and identified his son from his clothes. He told the police that he had gifted his son, a first year student at Shri Mumbadevi Junior College of Commerce and Science, a mobile phone after he cleared his class 12 exam. Since the phone was damaged when he was hit by a train, the father got it repaired and submitted it to the police.

“When we examined his phone, we found that the boy had been chatting with a few people on WhatsApp from December 30, 2024 till his death,” an officer familiar with the case told Hindustan Times.

The accused assigned some part-time jobs to him pertaining to ratings on Google, the officer said. When he completed those tasks, they told him to complete another task which would be shared via the Telegram messaging app. Accordingly, the deceased joined the ‘Tax Commissioner’ group on Telegram, completed a task and was paid some money. He then started receiving messages from Telegram users with names like Neha Agarwal Sharma, Doris Seth and Kiran Rao Pandit, who asked him to complete some more tasks and promised him payment for the same once he deposited ₹49,000.

“But after the deceased paid ₹49,000, he did not receive any payment in his account while the frauds asked him to make further payments to recover his dues,” the officer said. “His father claimed that he had committed suicide due to constant harassment by the frauds.”

Based on the father’s complaint and evidence from the deceased’s mobile phone, the GRP booked eight people for abetment to suicide under section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.