A 23-year-old man allegedly committed suicide here after he was sexually assaulted by four men, one of whom he knew through social media, officials said on Monday. The accused allegedly recorded the assault that happened in a hotel on Thursday and demanded extortion money from the victim, threatening that otherwise they would post the video online, they said.

The victim allegedly committed suicide late night on Friday, hours after police lodged an FIR in the case. His body was found by family members on Saturday morning.

Police arrested three of the accused on Saturday and they are still searching for the fourth suspect, they said.

An FIR was registered against Karan alias Ashutosh Mishra, 26, a resident of Chiluatal; Devesh Rajnand, 24, currently residing in BRD Medical College campus and originally from Piprauli; Angad Kumar, 21, a resident of Chiluatal; and Mohan Prajapati, 20, who is still at large.

According to police, the victim was allegedly held hostage in a hotel room in Chiluatal area, where he was sexually assaulted and beaten with a belt by the four men.

He was staying with his brother in a rented house and was preparing for competitive exams, said Superintendent of Police (North) Jitendra Kumar Srivastava.

The SP said the victim began talking to one Karan a month ago on a social media platform. Eventually, Karan invited him to his house in Chiluatal. On Thursday, Karan allegedly took Aditya to a hotel in Rail Vihar, Chiluatal, where three associates of Karan joined them, he said.

Srivastava said they allegedly sexually assaulted the victim and beat him with a belt when he resisted. They allegedly recorded the assault, threatened to release the video on social media, and demanded money in exchange for their silence. They also allegedly transferred money via UPI from the victim's phone and purchased beer, the officer said.

The victim initially attempted to file a complaint at Shahpur Police Station, but due to jurisdictional issues between Chiluatal and Shahpur, the FIR was not immediately registered, Srivastava said.

On Friday, the FIR was finally lodged under sections 377 (unnatural offences), 384 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the SP said. Late that night, around 1 am, the victim spoke to his nephew. After everyone had gone to sleep, he allegedly hanged himself from the ceiling. His family found his body on Saturday morning and notified the police, the officer said.

Srivastava said that a case has been registered against all four accused under serious charges. Three of the accused have been arrested, and efforts are underway to apprehend the fourth suspect.

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