Initial investigation have revealed that a senior citizen, who ended his life along with his wife in Beedi village in Belagavi district, allegedly due to harassment by cyber criminals, may have faced extortion over a period of about 150 days. The bodies of 83-year-old Diego Nazareth and his 79-year-old wife, Flaviana Nazareth, were found in their house on Friday (March 28, 2025), with a death note by the husband near the body. Post mortem indicated that they may have died on March 26, police said. Officers checking the mobile phones and the family bank accounts have also traced a long list of payments to online gambling sites over several months. “That was probably the reason he felt threatened and insulted when some persons posing as cyber police threatened him with legal action,” a senior police officer said. What the note said The death note left behind by Nazareth says that a person identifying himself as Anil Yadav, a Mumbai cyber crime branch police officer, said that his SIM card was used for committing an international crime. The accused said that an officer from telecom cyber cell, Seema Bisra, would call them later. When the woman called, she told Nazareth that there was a digital arrest warrant against his name and that he would face legal arrest. He paid some money to the fraudsters with pleas not to initiate action against him, officers say. “He pledged gold in a local bank to raise some money for betting and for paying the criminals. We are trying to estimate the amount the family must have lost. Preliminary inquiry says he paid between ₹5-6 lakh over a period of 150 days. But it could be more,” said another officer. Neither the death note nor the First Information Report mention the quantum of money that may have been paid or lost. The FIR says that the fraudsters alleged that the victim had shared obscene images on his phone and threatened the couple with dire consequences. The couple had no immediate family. Their far relatives were present during the final rites at the Christian cemetery in Beedi on Friday (March 28) night. The Nazareths had asked the villagers to donate their bodies to a medical college for education and research. However, the bodies were brought back to Beedi after doctors at Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) informed that bodies resulting from unnatural death not be donated. After retiring from his job with the Maharashtra government, Nazareth had settled in his native village of Beedi and managed a cashew farm. Additional SP N.S. Shruti who visited the spot, said, “A case has been registered at Nandagad police station. Officers have seized a mobile phone, a knife and a death note from the house.” Do not fall prey Swapnil Patnekar, founder of Shreshta, a cyber research agency, says that cyber offences are on the rise, but not falling prey to them is not difficult. He said the basic rule is to not panic. “No law enforcement agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), police, customs, Enforcement Directorate (ED), or judges, conduct arrests over video calls. We should all know this basic fact,” he said, adding that those facing such threats can report to the cyber crime helpline 1930. (Those suffering from mental distress or having suicidal thoughts can seek counselling or call the Arogya Sahayavani helpline 104.)