Elderly couple in Belagavi allegedly commits suicide for fear of digital arrest
Belagavi: In a first case of suicide in the district fearing digital arrest, a elderly couple residing in Beedi village of Khanapur taluk allegedly committed suicide on Thursday evening for fear of threats by cyber frauds.
The deceased man, identified as Drogger Santan Nazareth (82) of Christian Galli in Beedi village, was found in a pool of blood in the underground water tank of his house while his wife Flavia (79) was seen by the neighbours, lying lifeless inside the house.
The police officers, who visited the residence on being informed by the neighbours, conducted an inspection and found a suicide note, a sickle and Drogger’s mobile phone. Nandgad police have taken the phone, the sickle as well as the suicide note into their custody.
The hand-written two-page suicide note in English said that the husband and wife had decided to end their lives, but no one was to be blamed as they did not wish to live at someone else’s mercy.
Drogger, in the two-page note, added they had received a call from a man identifying himself as Sumit Birra from Delhi and claiming to be a government official. Birra had told Drogger that his mobile phone was being used for illegal advertisements. He connected Drogger to another person Anil Yadav, who narrated the consequences of the situation, the senior citizen said, adding that Flavia and he were ending their lives as they did not wish to live under the mercy of some else.
The deceased man has asked friends to use his wife’s gold jewelry to clear the money he had borrowed from them. Drogger additionally asked that their remains be donated to a medical institution for use at the laboratory. The couple had no children.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
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Rahul Gandhi congratulates Pope Leo, hopes for peace, compassion
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday congratulated Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was elected as the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church on Thursday.
"Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Prevost on his election as Pope Leo XIV. May his leadership foster peace, compassion, and service to humanity. My best wishes to the global Catholic community on this joyous occasion," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
Prevost (69), a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican's powerful office of bishops, took the name Leo XIV.
