Mumbai man googles for suicide ideas; Interpol alert saves him
The police found that he was under pressure as he was not able to secure the release of his mother from jail in Mumbai
The Mumbai police traced a 28-year-old man in the city and saved him from ending his life following an alert from Interpol that he was searching about the “best way to commit suicide” on Google, an official said on Wednesday.
The man, who hails from Rajasthan, was rescued on Tuesday from suburban Malvani after the police traced his location on the basis of his mobile number shared by Interpol, he said.
According to police, the US National Central Bureau received a pop-up regarding the search of the Malwani resident. The agency immediately alerted the CBI – their Interpol counterparts in India- and transmitted the user’s mobile location. The CBI Interpol then forwarded the email received from the US NCB to the joint commissioner of the police crime branch, said a crime branch official.
“The rescue operation was conducted by Unit-11 of the Mumbai police’s crime branch based on the information given by Interpol on Tuesday afternoon,” the police official said.
“The victim, a resident of Malvani in Malad west, is a native of Rajasthan. During the probe, the police found that he was under pressure as he was not able to secure the release of his mother from jail in Mumbai since her arrest in a criminal case two years ago,” he said. The man earlier stayed in Mira Road locality (in neighbouring Thane district) with his relatives before shifting to Malvani, a western suburb, he added.
“He has been jobless since the last six months. Since he was not able to secure the release of his mother from a jail, he was under depression. As the thoughts of ending life came to his mind, he started an online search to find ways to commit suicide,” the official said.
He searched ‘Suicide best way’ on Google several times, which caught the attention of Interpol officials, who sent an email about it to the Mumbai police along with his mobile phone number, he said. On the basis of that information, the crime branch found that the user of the mobile phone was in Malvani, he added.
“Accordingly, the police rushed to the place. The victim was then taken into custody and counselled,” he said. He was counselled for around two hours after which he assured the police officials that henceforth he would not even think about taking such a drastic step and was allowed to go along with a relative.
(With agency inputs)
Suicide helpline numbers:
(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)
