Mumbai: Collegian kills self; FIR on 4 online investment cheats for 'hounding' him

MUMBAI: After an online investment fraud led to the death of his college-going son, a 52-year-old man has registered a complaint with Govt Railway Police against four persons who were beneficiaries of the amount defrauded. Vivek T (20) died by suicide nearly three months ago on the railway tracks between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli.An FIR was registered last Saturday. The student's father, Vijay, decided to press charges to bring the culprits to book and ensure that no more lives are lost. Vivek, a final-year degree college student, lived with his parents. On July 17, he left home without informing anyone. His parents kept calling on his cellphone till a cop answered and told them of their son's death. Vijay told TOI that the fraud unfolded over a couple of days before the suicide. "The fraudsters used to chat with my son over Telegram," he said. They convinced Vivek to download a cryptocurrency trading app, which his family later discovered was a malicious app. "Initially, my son invested Rs 1,000 with them and got Rs 2,000 back. The next day, he invested Rs 3,000 and again received double the amount as returns. This made him confident that the investment platform was genuine," said Vijay. The fraudsters presented three schemes for getting good returns. One of the schemes involved paying up Rs 4 lakh and getting Rs 6 lakh back. Vivek emptied his bank account and invested Rs 80,000. When he was asked to pay more, he called up his father. "I told him that online transfers to unknown people were risky, but he assured me that the scheme was authentic," said Vijay. A UPI ID was provided to Vijay for the money transfers and he sent Rs 50,000. The fraudsters demanded another Rs 50,000, which he paid. The third time, they demanded Rs 1.2 lakh. "I transferred that as well. But their bank account was frozen and the sum was refunded to me. A bank representative called me to enquire whether I had verified the recipient," said Vijay. When he met his son, Vijay informed him about the beneficiary's bank account being frozen. "I told my son to forget about the money lost. But we were not aware that he was being hounded to pay up Rs 4 lakh totally. He was under a lot of stress," said Vijay. Around 8.30pm, Vivek left home and his family never saw him again. He had scribbled a note on a paper napkin asking that his WhatsApp chats be checked and also made a mention of Ghatkopar. "Police haven't been able to unlock his phone and retrieve his WhatsApp chats," said Vijay. He found the names of the individuals into whose bank accounts the defrauded money was transferred and registered a police complaint against them. "I'm not going to get my son back, but I don't want anyone else falling prey to such scams," he said.Need help? Contact, MPower Mental Health Helpline on 1800-120-820050.