Teenager kills self during WhatsApp video call with girlfriend because their parents tried to end the relationship

A teenager shot himself dead during a WhatsApp video call with his girlfriend - because both sets of parents were trying to end the relationship.

Akash Kumar, 19, called his girlfriend because he wanted to talk to her for a final time from his home in Patna, in the north-eastern Indian state of Bihar.

The unnamed woman says Akash was lying on his back in bed and that she saw him aim a pistol at his head.

His lover, in class nine and therefore aged 14 or 15, later told police that she had begged Akash to take the gun away from his head and to unload it but that he had refused.

The young man then shot himself, says his girlfriend.

The girl is reported to have contacted Akash's cousin Chandan Kumar, who went to Akash's residence and forced his way in. Akash is believed to have been dead by the time he broke in.

A police spokesman said: 'Chandan somehow gained entry through the terrace at 5am, after which the police were informed.'

Indian media say Akash had recently failed an important exam and that he had links to a gang of bikers.  

Indian media said her parents had previously told her off about seeing him. 

An unnamed source was quoted as saying that Akash's father Sanjay Kumar Rai wanted him to marry soon.

But the source alleged: 'The father was against the youth's relationship with the girl as her father has a criminal background.'

Mr Rai reportedly wanted police to open a murder investigation but police Station House Officer Alok Kumar maintained the door had been locked from the inside.

The weapon used is reported to have been a 'country-made' pistol, meaning a home-made weapon constructed out of scrap.

Country-made pistols are widespread in Bihar, where their manufacture has become a cottage industry.

DailyMail