PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The promptness of authorities prevented a man from committing suicide in Haridwar who had posted about taking his own life on Instagram. It was possible due to proper coordination between Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook and the cyber crime unit of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF), the deputy superintendent of police of STF’s cyber crime unit Ankush Mishra said. He informed that the incident unfolded on June 19 when Meta’s team in the United States of America detected a disturbing post by a man Rajesh (name changed) in which he indicated his intent to commit suicide.
The company’s nodal officer Ashwin Madhusudhan immediately alerted the STF and cyber police teams in Uttarakhand through a call and follow-up email, sharing critical details of the user’s account and location. Mishra said that as soon as the alert was received, Dehradun-based cyber crime officers, including assistant sub-inspector Mukesh Chand and constable Nitin Ramola, sprang into action.
After analysing the information provided by Meta, they found that the location linked to the account was within Haridwar district. They promptly informed the Haridwar Police control room and the Kotwali Nagar police station. A Haridwar police team swiftly reached the location associated with the Instagram post. They found the man in a distressed state and intervened just in time to prevent him from harming himself.
Upon questioning, Rajesh shared that he had been grappling with serious personal and family issues, which led him to contemplate suicide and share his final thoughts online, as per DSP. He stated that the police officers not only diffused the immediate crisis but also counselled the man, urging him to seek help whenever he feels overwhelmed. They resolved some of his immediate problems and handed him over to his family with a strong advisory to contact the police if he ever faces such a crisis again, Mishra added.
