Patna: A man in Bihar ended his life, allegedly to save his teenage daughter from being kidnapped by a gang of gangsters, police and family members said on Friday.

Reports said the suspects had recently tried to extort Rs500,000 (Dh28,435) from Mahmoud Alam, a wholesale dealer in firecrackers from Muzaffarpur district.

The gang had even threatened to kidnap his younger daughter if he failed to fulfil their demand.

Subsequently, the businessman met senior police officials in the district and told them about the threats made to his family.

The police allegedly did not take notice of his requests.

“He was under pressure, since receiving the extortion call and threats to kidnap his daughter if he failed to pay the amount,” Mahmoud’s brother Abdur Rahman told journalists on Friday.

His body was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his home on Thursday night.

Victim’s family members said the businessman took the extreme step after failing to arrange money to meet extortion demand of the gangsters.

“Perhaps he thought the criminals would feel pity on his family after his death and would not kidnap his daughter,” a family member said.

The incident has sparked tension in the areas and a team of police force has been deployed there.

“We are investigating the case but it’s beyond our comprehension why a man would commit suicide just for failing to meet the extortion demand. There is something amiss in the case,” a senior local police official Vivek Kumar was quoted as saying in the local media Friday.

Earlier this week, two engineers from the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) left Bihar after being served murder threats by some criminals.

Both engineers were posted in the same Muzaffarpur district.

The engineers fled Bihar after being told to leave the place at the earliest, failing which they would be eliminated.

“Both left Bihar informing their seniors at Muzaffarpur and company headquarters in Delhi saying they would never return to the state in future,” NHPC executive director Pradeep jauhar was quoted as saying in the local media.