A 21-year-old final-year BTech student at Sagar University hanged himself at a lodge in Bina after apparently buckling under relentless threats from cyber fraudsters. Aman Prajapati, a resident of Auder village in Ashoknagar district, was found dead inside Laxmi Lodge, and a search of his phone after his death exposed a much larger cyber fraud operation.
Threatening messages traced to Pakistani numbers
An initial examination of Aman's mobile phone found a string of threatening messages sent from numbers carrying Pakistan's country code, +92. The accused were demanding money under the guise of a scheme called 'Quick Fund'. Screenshots of the chats show the student was being pushed hard to pay up. In the most chilling part of the threats, the accused warned Aman that they would morph his family's photographs into obscene images and make them go viral if he failed to pay.
A wedding was days away
Aman was the youngest of four brothers. His elder brother, Priyatesh Prajapati, was due to get married on July 7, and the household was busy with wedding preparations. On July 2, Aman left home without telling anyone. When he did not return, his family launched a search and filed a missing person report at Gopalganj police station.
Booked a room, asked for an early wake-up call
According to Raju Sonkar, who runs Laxmi Lodge, Aman checked into room number 103 on Friday evening. He asked staff to wake him early the next morning so he could catch a train to Prayagraj. When an employee went to wake him up, the room was locked from inside. Looking through the window, staff found Aman's body hanging from a noose.
Police probe Pakistani numbers, loan agent network
Chhoti Bajariya police said the deceased student's mobile phone has been seized. Since the phone is locked, it has been sent for forensic examination. Police are now investigating the Pakistani numbers and the wider network of digital loan agents who allegedly harassed the student mentally for weeks.
