Indian-American couple, twin sons found dead at their home in US
New York (PTI): An Indian-origin family, including their 4-year-old twin boys, has been found dead at their home in California with the police investigating the case as a murder-suicide, in the latest in a string of tragedies to strike the community in the US.
The victims have been identified by the friends as Anand Sujith Henry, his wife Alice Priyanka, and their 4-year-old twin boys, NBC Bay Area reported.
However, the victims' identities have not yet been released, police said.
The incident took place in San Mateo on Monday, police were quoted as saying by the the report.
On Monday, Police said a 911 call spurred a welfare check at the location after someone reported they hadn't heard from the residents for some time. They arrived and checked the exits of the home and found no signs of forced entry.
"Unfortunately, we located four deceased people inside the home. One adult male. One adult female and two children," said Jerami Surratt, public information officer with the San Mateo Police Department.
The case is being investigated as a murder-suicide, police said Tuesday.
According to court records, the husband filed for divorce in December 2016 but apparently did not go through with it.
The two young children were found inside a bedroom, police said.
"The children did not have any gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, they were found deceased, so that will be part of the autopsy, to figure out the cause of (the children's) death," Surratt said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation said police believe the boys were smothered, strangled, or given a lethal overdose because there was no sign of trauma on their bodies.
The man and woman were found inside a bathroom, according to police. They both had gunshot wounds.
A 9-millimeter pistol and a loaded magazine were found in the bathroom, police said.
The deaths appear to be an isolated incident, and there is no danger to the public, police said.
"We are confident the person responsible was located within the home," police said in a statement.
"This is not a normal call for anyone. It's tragic for the family, the community, the officers. Really everyone involved," said Surratt.
At the State of the City address on Monday night, San Mateo Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash held a moment of silence for the four people found dead in the home.
"It was horrific, it was devastating to all of us, to the community as well as to our San Mateo Police officers."
There have been seven deaths of an Indian or Indian-American in the country in recent months.
On February 10, a 41-year-old Indian-origin IT executive died after suffering life-threatening injuries during an assault outside a restaurant in Washington.
Before that, Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian student was attacked by robbers in Chicago.
Earlier, 25-year-old Indian student Vivek Saini was fatally attacked in Georgia state's Lithonia city by a homeless drug addict.
Another student identified as 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger was found dead in Ohio. However, local authorities have ruled out foul play.
Sameer Kamath, a 23-year-old Indian-American student at Purdue University, was found dead in a nature preserve in Indiana on February 5.
Another Indian student, identified as Neel Acharya at Purdue University, Indiana, was confirmed dead days after being reported missing on January 28.
Akul B Dhawan, an 18-year-old at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was found dead last month with signs of hypothermia.
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Deepfake video of Nirmala Sitharaman used to dupe Belagavi man in Rs 7.9 lakh scam
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 76-year-old man in Belagavi city was allegedly cheated of Rs 7.9 lakh in an online investment scam that used an AI-generated deepfake video misusing the name of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lure investors, police said on Wednesday.
An online fraud case was registered at the cybercrime police station on May 1, they said.
According to Belagavi Police Commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, the victim, Prakash Gubbi, a senior citizen, stated in his complaint that in November last year, he came across a video on YouTube in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to endorse an investment scheme.
The video also mentioned a link in its description for making investments.
The victim clicked on the link, entered his details, and was later contacted on social media by a person identifying himself as Adarsh Anand, who persuaded him to invest, the officer told reporters.
Citing the complaint, the officer said the victim initially invested a small amount, after which the application began showing profits of USD 65,000.
When he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused demanded a “customs duty” payment of Rs 4.2 lakh, claiming it was required to process the withdrawal.
The victim paid the amount, after which he was asked to pay an additional Rs 2 lakh. It was at this stage that he realised he had been cheated. In total, he lost around Rs 7.9 lakh in the fraud, the officer added.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and police are investigating the matter, police said.
The commissioner cautioned the public not to trust such videos, stating that the finance minister does not endorse any such schemes.
He warned that such content is created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.
He further advised the public to remain vigilant, avoid offers that appear too good to be true on the internet, and invest only through legitimate, registered agencies or trusted channels.
Deepfake technology enables the creation of realistic videos, audio recordings, and images that can mislead viewers by superimposing one person’s likeness onto another, altering their words and actions. This can present a false narrative or spread misinformation.
