March 29, 2025: A heartbreaking incident has occurred in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, where an elderly couple, Diyango Najarat (83) and his wife Playviana Najarat (79), ended their lives after being defrauded of Rs 50 Lakh by cybercriminals.

The couple, both retired employees of Maharashtra secretariat, were targeted by scammers who posed as officials from the Delhi Crime Branch. The fraudsters accused them of being involved in a criminal case and demanded Rs 5 Lakh as settlement fees. The couple, fearing the worst, paid the amount.

However, the harassment didn’t stop there. The scammers continued to threat and extort more money from the couple, leading to a total loss of over Rs 50 Lakh. The couple, who had no children or immediate family, suffered in silence, too afraid to inform anyone about the threats and extortion.

The investigation, initially suspected to be a murder case, took a turn when the police recovered the couple’s suicide note and examined their mobile phone records. The bodies have been sent to Belagavi BIMS hospital for post-mortem.

The police are now investigating the matter. “This is a serious matter, and a detailed investigation is underway,” said a senior police official from Nandgad.