Delhi Police save 43-year-old after he live streams suicide attempt on Facebook

New Delhi: A 43-year-old man live-streamed his suicide attempt on Facebook and was saved by the swift intervention of the police here that were alerted by an email from the social media giant on Thursday (October 21, 2021), officials said.

In the video, the man can be heard as saying that he is going to kill himself by taking an overdose of some medicine.                  

Deputy Commissioner of Police (CyPAD) KPS Malhotra said that an urgent message was received from Facebook that a person posted a live video of a suicide attempt at 1.30 pm.

The email was received around 2 pm from Facebook, following which the cyber cell unit of Delhi Police started investigation. They first managed to get the number, which was linked to the account and traced the person in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden, the DCP said.

The information was shared with the west and southwest districts of Delhi Police, and a team of Rajouri Garden police station traced the man at his residence at 3.15 pm. He was found in a semi-conscious condition, police said.

During inquiry, he told police that he consumed about 50 bottles of syrup used in thyroid treatment. It was found that his wife left him around three years ago and that he has lost his job last year, the DCP said.

He was facing many health problems also and was depressed. He went for the treatment of depression earlier, but was not taking medicines for many days, police said.

In the morning, he called his wife, who currently lives in Bhopal, as he wanted to visit her, but she refused.

To mount pressure on his in-laws, he demonstrated live suicide on Facebook.  He was immediately shifted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital for treatment and is undergoing treatment, police said.