A 16-year-old girl from Koregaon Park allegedly lost her life after an online “friendship” turned into sustained harassment. Koregaon Park police are searching for a man from Belagavi, Karnataka, accused of pushing the Std X student to die by suicide after repeatedly demanding ₹50,000 and threatening to leak her photos on social media.
The girl was found hanging from a dupatta tied to a ceiling fan at her home on the afternoon of November 23, when her family was away. Her mother, a domestic worker, filed a complaint naming the suspect by his first name and accusing him of abetment. Her father and brother are employed in a private firm.
Senior inspector Sangita Jadhav said on Wednesday that call data records helped identify the man, believed to be in his early 20s. “We hope to take him into custody soon,” she said.
The family originally hails from Belagavi and moved to Pune years ago. According to the complaint, the girl met the suspect at a function in Belagavi and later stayed in touch with him online. He allegedly visited Pune as well. The mother told police she suspected he had taken the girl to a lodge and photographed her in a compromising manner.
He then began calling the girl and later her family, demanding ₹50,000 to keep the photos offline. When she and her family said they couldn’t pay, the harassment allegedly intensified. Unable to bear the pressure, the teen ended her life on November 23.
Police have seized the girl’s phone and will examine the suspect’s device once he is arrested to verify where the photos were taken and how he persuaded her to meet him.
