Greater Noida: Jaipur man gets seven-year jail for extortion, abetting suicide

The court observed that the man took an extreme step due to the dishonesty and conspiracy of the suspect

Greater Noida: A fast-track city court in Greater Noida on Saturday awarded a 26-year-old Jaipur-based man seven years of imprisonment and slapped a ₹20,000 fine over the death a 26-year-old law student on March 22, 2024 who allegedly ended his life after a group blackmailed, threatened, and extorted ₹25,000 from him.

The prosecution, meanwhile, said they will appeal before the court for the arrest of remaining suspects whose names appeared during the investigation. (Representational image)

The court, however, granted bail to a second arrested suspect, Sanjay Badotiya, in the case for not being directly linked to the case.

The fast-track court, headed by Priyanka Singh, additional sessions judge, Gautam Budh Nagar observed that the man took an extreme step due to the dishonesty and conspiracy of the suspect. “Amit Barman has been sentenced to seven years on charges of 306 (abetment to suicide) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). Additionally, he will serve three years for 420 (cheating),” the court stated, adding that “a ₹10,000 fine for each of abetment and cheating. If he fails to pay, he will serve an extra two months, and both sentences will run concurrently.”

The order came as the Allahabad High Court directed the trial to preferably complete within one year due to “grave” nature of the offence.

In the early morning of March 22, the first-year law student residing with parents in Beta-2, jumped into a nullah and died. His suicide note served as evidence for conviction, revealing that the unidentified suspects he came across social media, blackmailed him over his private interactions with a woman. It stated: “I don’t want to live anymore as I’ve fallen trap of the social media sex racket and asked for huge amount of money.” He also mentioned a suspect’s name, citing, “the one who was asking for money and that guy is Amit Barman.”

A week later, on March 30, 2024, police arrested Barman and Badotiya from their hometown in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

During the trial, the defence counsel Vijay Rathore argued that the FIR was registered after a delay of four days and no explicit photos or videos of the student were recovered by the investigating officer, nor were any such materials sent to the victim. The defence also claimed that the investigation was flawed, pointing out that no proper forensic examination of the suicide note, the student’s mobile phone, or his laptop was conducted by the police.

In response, public prosecutor Shilpi Bhadoriya stated that the family had lost their young child and was dealing with intense fear and emotional distress, making it understandably difficult for them to approach the police immediately. She further cited the contents of the suicide note, in which the student expressed “fear” that his private photos and videos would be leaked.

The prosecution also presented evidence that suspects Barman and Badotiya were involved in providing mule bank accounts to the “sextortion” gang and that Barman’s account received money from the student’s UPI ID. However, the court observed that prosecution failed to establish Badotiya’s any direct connection to the case and granted him bail on a bond of ₹30,000.

The defence also requested the court to reduce the sentence, citing that Barman’s father is paralysed, his mother works as a house helper, and he has no prior criminal record.

Notably, the defence counsel also approached the Allahabad High Court for the bail of Barman, but a court headed by Justice Ajay Bhanot J. said: “Without going into the merits of the case, the bail application is dismissed. Considering the gravity of the offence, the interest of justice will be served by directing the learned trial court to expedite the trial within a stipulated period of time.”

The prosecution, meanwhile, said they will appeal before the court for the arrest of remaining suspects whose names appeared during the investigation.