BENGALURU: An elderly couple, victims of cyber fraud, committed suicide on Saturday. The incident took place in Belagavi, Karnataka. The deceased were identified as Diego Nazareth (82) and his wife, Flaviana (79), residents of Beedi village in Khanapur. The duo was found dead by neighbours on Thursday. Diego is a retired officer from the Maharashtra Secretariat. They have no children.

Diego’s body was found in a pool of blood outside the house. The body had cut marks on his throat and wrist. Flaviana’s body was found dead inside the house. She likely consumed poison before death. A suicide note found from the building held no one responsible for the death.

The letter mentions the names of Sumit Beera and Anil Yadav. Beera, who introduced himself as an official of the Department of Telecom from New Delhi, duped the couple, saying that someone had taken a SIM card in Diego's name and was using it to make abusive and unauthorized advertisements. Later, Yadav deceived the couple, introducing himself as a crime branch officer and demanding the couple share details of their wealth.

Diego handed over Rs 50 lakh to them. They asked for more money later. The letter also states that a gold loan was taken for Rs 7.15 lakh. Diego also mentioned in the letter about taking money on credit from his friends. He instructed authorities to use his wife’s gold ornaments to pay off the debts. He also suggested that the body be donated for research.

Police said they have registered a case of abetment to suicide and cyber fraud in the incident. The police have taken into custody Diego’s mobile phone, the knife used for the suicide, and the suicide note.