{
  "id": 14949363,
  "title": "Pune: IT Employee Dies By Suicide; Father Alleges Harassment Over Fake Drug Case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/pune-it-employee-dies-by-suicide-father-alleges-harassment-over-fake",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T11:36:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/pune-it-employee-dies-by-suicide-father-alleges-harassment-over-fake-drug-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 22-year-old IT professional, Shikhar Kumargaurav Saxena, died by suicide after jumping from a building in Kharadi, Pune on October 1, 2022, according to reports. His father, Kumargaurav Saxena, has alleged that his son was repeatedly harassed and threatened with false accusations of drug trafficking by a man named Ajaykumar Bhatia.\n\nThe police registered a case against Bhatia and an unidentified person based on the complaint filed by the deceased's father. Shikhar, who stayed at a paying guest accommodation in Kharadi, was rushed to Sassoon General Hospital upon his death. His father claims that on September 30, Bhatia called his wife, posing as a sub-inspector from Gurugram, Haryana. Bhatia allegedly accused Shikhar of selling drugs to women in Pune and threatened to arrest him.\n\nSubsequently, Shikhar's mobile phone became unreachable, and his family could not find him. They later discovered that Shikhar had left his PG accommodation around 5:30 pm on September 30. His family found records on his laptop, including WhatsApp activity on September 29, money transfers to various accounts, and screenshots sent to Bhatia. The laptop also contained suspicious chats, which led the family to suspect that Shikhar was threatened and mentally harassed. His father further noted that a call was received on October 13 from a different mobile number, inquiring why Shikhar was returning a courier, to which the caller then disconnected.\n\nPolice are investigating the circumstances surrounding Shikhar's death and verifying the allegations made by his father. The case against Bhatia and the unidentified person has been registered under Sections 108, 3(5), 308(6), and 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).",
  "summary": "Pune: A 22-year-old IT professional working at a reputed company in Pune's Magarpatta area allegedly died by suicide after jumping from a building in Kharadi on Oct 1. His father has accused a man of repeatedly threatening his son with false allegations of drug trafficking and mentally harassing him. Based on the complaint, police have registered a case against Ajaykumar Bhatia and an…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Press Journal",
        "title": "Pune Techie, 22, Found Dead After Alleged Threats In Fake Drug Case; Family Suspects Cyber Extortion",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/pune-techie-22-found-dead-after-alleged-threats-in-fake-drug-case",
        "published": "2026-10-16T11:33:12.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}