A 23-year-old man allegedly shot himself in the head during a video call with a woman who was blackmailing him, police said on Wednesday.

The two had allegedly been in a relationship and the woman was blackmailing him over a video she had recorded of him, they said.

The incident allegedly took place inside the man's car near Saraiya petrol pump in Gorakhpur's Gulriha area on Tuesday night.

Prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Grover said.

Akhilesh Sharma, a father of two daughters, had been under severe distress due to the woman’s blackmailing, his family members have alleged.

They said that the woman had been married three times previously and was trying to extort money from Sharma. This drove him to take his own life, they alleged.

Sharma, a resident of Khajanchi Chowk in Shahpur, worked in a private company. Police have recovered a gun from his car.

The SSP said the body has been sent for post-mortem. A detailed probe is underway in the matter, he said.

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