BENGALURU: Duped by an online fraudster who promised to pay Rs 56 lakh for a Re 1 coin minted six decades ago, a 46-year-old businessman here died by suicide after setting himself ablaze on an isolated road.
Aravind, the owner of a gift shop in Chikkaballapura (60km from Bengaluru), lost Rs 26 lakh he had raised from his friends and by pledging his wife's jewellery without her consent to fraudsters who convinced him it's for a processing fee. He left a suicide note explaining what drove him to take the extreme step late Tuesday night.
Businessman pledged wife's gold without her knowledge
Police said Aravind was tricked by scamsters after he tried to sell the coin minted in 1957. He learnt he could get a huge sum money by selling it and searched for a buyer on an online platform by posting an advertisement it. A scamster contacted him over phone and said he was keen on purchasing it.
The miscreant asked Aravind to send photos of the coin and said he'd pay Rs 56 lakh for it. They asked Aravind to pay Rs 2,000 as processing fee. Aravind transferred the amount to the account number provided by the miscreant who later asked for more money, ostensibly for various charges, including SWIFT code charge, RBI charge and income tax, among others, to close the deal.
Aravind started transferring money in multiple transactions. In all, he transferred over Rs 26 lakh to accounts provided by the fraudster.
Police said Aravind pledged his wife's gold without her knowledge and took loans from friends and relatives. "He realised he had been taken for a ride when there was no response from the con man," said an investigating officer "Aravind decided to end his life and went to an isolated place on Gauribidanur road Tuesday evening. He parked his scooter near a temple, poured petrol on himself and set himself ablaze," said police .
Chikkaballapur police said Aravind had sent a WhatsApp message to his friend around 3.47pm about his decision to kill himself. His friend read the message only at 9pm as he was busy with some work. He immediately informed VK Vasudeva, deputy superintendent of police (Chikkaballapura sub-division). Police found Aravind's phone was still on and was ringing when calls were made to him.
