Belagavi/Surat: Do cyber criminals deserve stricter punishment than what they receive at the moment?
Social media is abuzz with this debate after an elderly couple took their own lives in Karnataka’s Belagavi recently, after losing their life savings to cyber criminals. The prime accused was arrested from Surat in Gujarat, days after the deaths.
Diogjeron Santan Nazareth (82) and his wife Flaviana (79), were found dead at their residence in Belagavi’s Khanapur on March 27. Nazareth left behind a two-page note, saying that they did not wish to live at the mercy of others. In the note, he named Sumit Birra and Anil Yadav.
Birra had apparently posed as a telecom department official from Delhi and informed him that a SIM card, fraudulently purchased in his name had been used for harassment and illegal advertisements. He then transferred the call to Yadav, who claimed to be from the crime branch.
Yadav warned Nazareth that the SIM card issue could land him in major trouble and demanded money to sort it out. The elderly man transferred Rs 50 lakh to them. This has been confirmed by the police. The criminals continued to demand more. Nazareth claimed in his note that he even took a gold loan of Rs 7.15 lakh to meet the demands of the cyber crooks.
Nazareth further wrote that the loans he took from friends be met by selling his wife’s bangles and earrings. He also asked that their bodies be donated for medical research.
Days after the deaths, Chirag Jeevarajbhai Lakkad was arrested from Surat after an investigation by the Cyber, Economic and Narcotics Crime Police. He, along with other cyber criminals, had defrauded the elderly couple of their hard earned savings.
Police have come to know that Lakkad impersonated a CBI officer and extorted money through video calls made from Surat. Rs 6 lakh was transferred to his account and the remaining amount was shared by his accomplices.
