Independent Candidate Contesting Telangana Polls Hangs Self Over Online Sextortion Attempt

Nizamabad: An independent candidate contesting the Telangana Assembly polls from Nizamabad Urban constituency has reportedly died by suicide after being subjected to an online sextortion attempt by cyber fraudsters. The 30-year-old candidate was allegedly threatened by the fraudsters, who demanded Rs 10 lakh and warned of uploading a video of him during a video call with a woman, along with his nomination paper, on social media.

The candidate, discovered hanging at his Nizamabad residence on Saturday night, had received a message on Friday from an unknown number with a woman’s profile picture on an instant messaging app. After initiating a conversation with the woman, a video call took place. The situation escalated when another caller demanded money and threatened to expose the recorded video call along with the nomination paper on social media if the candidate failed to pay Rs 10 lakh.

Refusing to comply with the extortion demand, the candidate faced the distressing consequence of having a portion of the video and images from the call leaked on social media. The family, devastated by the events, filed a complaint, leading to the registration of a case under IPC sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 384 (extortion). Investigations are ongoing.

Despite this tragic incident, official sources have confirmed that the election in the constituency will not be postponed.