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Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah's writer cited 'financial trouble' & died by suicide; Folks claim cyber fraud
Abhishek Makwana, one of the writers of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, passed away last week by suicide. The deceased's family has blamed cyber loan sharks for his untimely demise.
Trigger Warning
In a shocking piece of news, one of Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah's writers has died by suicide. Abhishek Makwana, was one of the writers of TMKOC, was found dead last week. While the police stated that Abhishek had cited 'financial trouble' in a suicide note, his family has blamed cyber fraud. The deceased's family has alleged that he was a victim of cyber fraud and blackmail.
A report in the Mumbai mirror states that Abhishek's family and friends have been receiving calls from fraudsters post his demise. The scammers have been demanding Abhishek's family to pay back the money to them, stating that the late writer had allegedly made them guarantors in a loan. Abhishek was found hanging in his Kandivali (Mumbai) apartment on November 27 (2020). The Charkop police had registered an accidental death. When the police officials were recording the family's statements, Abhishek's brother Jenis revealed that his email records unveiled financial fraud.
According to the police, the late writer's suicide note cites financial troubles that he was facing for the past several months, but the note does not reveal more details. Late Abhishek's brother Jenis opened up about his death and when he found out about the cyber load sharks. Jenis revealed that he was in Ahemdabad when his brother passed away. It was not before Sunday that he found out that he has been trapped in a cyber fraud after he started getting calls from fraudsters for money.
Jenis shared that when he informed the callers that Abhishek had passed away and the family is not in a state to talk about these issues, the fraudsters got extremely abusive. He then went on to check Abhishek's emails as he was receiving multiple calls demanding money since he passed away for loans that the late writer owed them. 'One call was a number registered in Bangladesh, one in Myanmar, and others were from different states of India,' shared Jennis.
After scanning Abhishek's emails, Jennis understood that his brother first took a small loan from one of the ‘easy loan’ apps that charge a very high rate of interest. Then, he researched the app online and found that have been involved in several cyber frauds before. I looked at the transactions between them and my brother closely after that. I noticed that they kept sending small amounts despite my brother not applying for the loans. Their interest rates are as high as 30 percent,' Jennis revealed.
Further, Jenis claimed that the messages on Abhishek's mobile phone revealed that he was being blackmailed. Abhishek's family learnt that many of his friends were also receiving similar calls, so Jenis sent a message to everybody from Abhishekh's contact list altering them not to be fooled by the fraudsters.
A police official from Charkop police station shared that they had found a suicide note written in Gujarati on the scene of the crime. 'It spoke about difficulties in his personal life as well as financial troubles that he had been facing over the past many months, revealed the police officer. In the suicide note, Abhishek also apologised to his family stating that he tried his best to fight the situation, but he cannot do it any longer as the issues are only increasing.
The police officer revealed that Abhishek's family has shared the numbers of the fraudsters. 'We have approached the bank for the transaction details and the phone service providers for the call data records. Right now, there is no solid evidence of the fraud or that the company was harassing the deceased,' stated the police official. However, as soon as the police establish anything, they will carry on with the necessary action to be taken against the alleged fraud company.
If you need support or know someone who is struggling, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
