Bangalore bodybuilder, allegedly involved with married client, dies by suicide; social media reacts, ‘Slave to lust…’

Late on Saturday night, a 27-year-old gym trainer in Bangalore allegedly died by suicide. The deceased, identified as Dileep, was a resident of Vajrahalli, Nelamangala in Bengaluru Rural district.

He was a competitive bodybuilder who had won several competitions. He also worked as a personal trainer at a local gym. His family alleges that he was driven to this extreme step by sustained harassment and blackmail by a 42-year-old married woman he had met at the gym roughly two years ago.

According to police, Dileep and the woman grew close during training sessions. Their friendship allegedly developed into a personal relationship.

Disputes between them surfaced as far back as a year ago. Both parties approached the police. At that time, the woman and her husband submitted a written apology, promising she would cut off contact with Dileep.

Dileep, too, gave a written undertaking to maintain distance. The matter was considered settled. However, Dileep's family claims the harassment never stopped.

On the night of the incident, Dileep returned home around 11.15 PM. His father, Ramesh, asked him to have dinner. Dileep replied that he had already eaten. He went upstairs to his room.

Within minutes, he allegedly tied a blanket to the ceiling fan, made a video call to the woman and showed her the noose before taking the extreme step.

The woman then messaged Dileep's sister Vinutha, who was at home for her maternity. She first sent casual messages. When there was no reply, she told Vinutha to check on her brother. When Vinutha asked what was wrong, the woman said Dileep had not eaten for three days and had tied a cloth to the fan. Alarmed, Vinutha alerted her parents. They forced open the door only to find Dileep hanging.

With the help of neighbours, the family rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

Vinutha alleged that the woman used to show Dileep her baby and emotionally torment him. Dileep's father Ramesh made a further serious allegation, claiming the woman had pressured his son to transfer ownership of their house property in her son's name.

“Unable to bear the torture, my son took his life,” The Times of India quoted the father as telling the police.

The body was handed over to the family after a postmortem at Nelamangala Government Hospital on 12 April. Nelamangala Town Police has registered a case. It has seized Dileep's mobile phone for data retrieval. The investigation is ongoing.

“It is so common for married women to cheat on husband & fake r*pe threat after consensual to loot after bored/breakup. Know 3 bakra gym body guys in our group who got fake r*pe case from married women & spent a few months in jail before bail granted,” wrote one of them.

“He got into her trap thinking having s*x with married woman is safe, no commitments. Men never learn lessons from other men's mistakes,” posted another user.

One user wondered, “Why did he enter into a relationship with a married woman?”

Another user wrote, “Su!c!de is never an option. Tell the blackmailer to go ahead with their threat and face it!”

“Most of the time, it's these gym trainers who hit on women. Most of them are muscled up simps showing cringe affection to women,” came from another.

“Men who are slave to their lust deserve to perish,” exclaimed another user.

A part of this report is based on user-generated content from social media. LiveMint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.

If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or having thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help. You can call the Tele-Manas helpline at 14416 or 1800-891-4416, or the SAHAI helpline at 080-25497777.