In a tragic incident, a 58-year-old government school teacher in Agra, Malti Verma, died of a heart attack after receiving a scam call claiming her daughter was involved in a sex racket. The call, which demanded ₹1 lakh to prevent a case from being filed, pushed the teacher into a state of panic, leading to her sudden death.
The incident occurred on Monday when Ms. Verma, a teacher at a government girls junior high school in Agra’s Achnera, received a WhatsApp call from a man posing as a police officer. His display picture reportedly showed him in a police uniform. The caller falsely claimed that her college-going daughter had been caught in a sex racket and demanded ₹1 lakh for her safe return and to avoid legal troubles.
Her son, Dipanshu, recounted the sequence of events, stating that the call came around noon, and the caller pressured his mother into depositing the money into a specific account. “The caller claimed to be helping us avoid the trauma of a sex racket case involving my sister. My mother was immediately distressed and called me,” Dipanshu said.
Dipanshu checked the phone number and realized that it had a +92 prefix, indicating it was from Pakistan, and told his mother it was a scam. Despite his reassurances, Ms. Verma remained extremely anxious. “I spoke to my sister, who was safe at her college, but my mother continued to feel unwell,” he added.
When Ms. Verma returned home from school later that day, she complained of chest pain. Her family tried to comfort her, but her condition worsened rapidly, and she passed away shortly after.
The family filed a complaint on Thursday, following her cremation on Tuesday. Additional Commissioner of Police Mayank Tiwari confirmed that the police had begun investigating the incident. “The family informed us that the teacher died of a heart attack after receiving a call alleging her daughter’s involvement in a sex racket. The caller demanded ₹1 lakh, and the stress from this call likely caused her death. We are tracing the number and will take necessary action,” Tiwari said.
The incident underscores the emotional toll that scam calls can take, with this case marking one of the rare instances where a fraudulent call has led to a fatality. The police are investigating the origin of the call to bring the culprits to justice.
Sources By Agencies