Harassed and filmed by moral vigilantes on Valentine's Day, Kerala man commits suicide in Palakkad

Kochi: A young man, believed to be in his 20s, committed suicide days after he was attacked, harassed and filmed by moral vigilantes on Valentine's Day in Kerala.

According to reports, his body was found hanging outside his home in Kerala's Palakkad district on Thursday.

Before taking the drastic step of ending his life, the man left a suicide note in which he cited harassment on Valentine's Day by some unidentified goon as the main reason for suicide.

The man and his female friend were accosted by a group of five unidentified men near a beach in Kollam on February 14. 

They allegedly video-taped the couple, asking the woman obscene and humiliating questions and later circulated the video on social media.

The couple had reportedly moved to a nearby bushy area so the woman could relieve herself since there are no public toilets on the beach.

The gang spotted the two there and tried to assault the woman. When the woman's friend came to her rescue, the gang attacked him as well. 

Acting on their complaint, the police later arrested those involved in the incident.

Unfortunately, the young man was highly upset after the incident and hardly spoke to anyone, his friend claimed.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier taken a strong note of the incident and asked the state police chief to take strict action on incidents of moral policing incidents.