A 23-year-old woman allegedly died by suicide during a video call with her boyfriend in Maharashtra’s Thane district, prompting his detention after accusations of harassment and blackmail, a police source said on Sunday.

The incident took place in the Titwala area on Thursday, he said.

“We have detained the woman’s boyfriend and are conducting an inquiry. Her family has alleged that he has cheated many other girls in this manner,” said an official from the Titwala police station, requesting anonymity.

The man and the woman met on Instagram, became friends, and got into a relationship. Citing her family’s version, the official said, “The boyfriend had taken her jewellery under various pretexts. When she asked him to return the ornaments, he began to blackmail her with threats of making her private videos public.” Unable to bear the harassment, the woman hanged herself in her house, the official said.

, the official said.

However, the woman was cremated without an autopsy, the official said, adding that no FIR has been registered so far.

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