Pimpri-Chinchwad grocer kills himself after ‘blackmail’ over missing earring

A 26-year-old grocer in Pimpri-Chinchwad's Bhosari area took his own life after a customer allegedly threatened to accuse him of stealing her earring, police revealed. Vinod Pemaram Chowdhary, who lived in Destination Kshitij Society, was found dead on July 27. The Bhosari police booked Saroj Mane for abetting the suicide following a complaint from the victim's father.

According to the police complaint, Mane initially demanded ₹85,000 from Vinod, threatening to file a complaint if he refused. She allegedly took ₹1 lakh from him but demanded an additional ₹55,000. Mane is said to have approached Vinod with another person several times to further threaten him. Vinod's family took his body to Rajasthan for last rites before filing the complaint, leading to the investigation.

No arrests have been made yet, and the legal procedure requires the police to first file an accidental death report.