Pratap Barik, a youth from Lanjigarh of Kalahandi district, who had committed suicide at the Titilagarh railway station on January 18 by jumping before a train, had allegedly lost Rs 70,000 in an online fraud in the name of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
The startling fact was revealed from a video recorded by the deceased Pratap himself prior to his suicide.
As per reports, though the exact reason behind Pratap’s death was then not clear, the matter of online cyber fraud came to fore after the recorded video was recovered from his mobile phone.
In the video, Pratap can be heard narrating how he fell victim to the fraud and lost around Rs 70,000 to the fraudster.
Sources said Pratap received a call from a person, who identified himself as Rana Singh of KBC’s Kolkota office, informing that he had won Rs 25 lakh lottery in KBC. However, the caller asked Pratap to deposit Rs Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 in four installments as tax if he wanted to claim the Rs 25 lakh.
In the video, Pratap claimed that he was forced to end life after he failed to contact Rana Singh and realised that he was cheated. He urged the police to nab the fraudster, so that no one else falls prey.
Further investigation in this connection is on, police said.
