On February 8, 2025, 24-year-old embroidery factory worker Parvez Alam was found dead, trapped inside an embroidery machine at Katargam GIDC in Surat, Gujarat. Initially presumed to be an industrial accident, suspicion arose when police discovered his switched-off mobile phone had 60% battery and his close friend and romantic partner of 1.5 years, 31-year-old Raza Bali Ansari, repeatedly attempted to obtain the phone and discouraged a post-mortem examination. Subsequent autopsy findings revealed the cause of death was strangulation, and CCTV footage showed Raza Bali entering and leaving the factory around the time of the incident. Under interrogation, Raza Bali confessed to strangling Parvez Alam over non-consensual intimate video recordings that Parvez refused to delete and used to blackmail him, after which he staged the body in the embroidery machine to feign an accidental death. Surat Police arrested Raza Bali Ansari on murder charges and obtained six days of police custody.
Country: India
State/Province: Gujarat, India
City/Region: Surat
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: Dating
Relationship Duration: 1.5 years
Incident Date: Feb. 8, 2025
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How the relationship or connection began.
1.5 years
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
2025-02-08
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Jealousy
The case illustrates a secret romantic relationship between two male coworkers originating from the same village that escalated into conflict over coercive recording and blackmail. When one partner created intimate digital recordings without mutual consent and refused repeated demands to delete them, the other partner perceived a grave threat to his privacy and reputation. Unable to resolve the conflict through verbal pressure, the offender planned a pre-arranged meeting during a quiet night shift, fatally choked the victim, and staged the body within machinery to conceal the violent crime as an industrial mishap.
Surat Police registered an unnatural death report at Katargam police station on February 8, 2025. Following autopsy findings of strangulation, police converted the case into a murder investigation under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Technical surveillance and CCTV footage established the suspect's presence at the crime scene. Accused Raza Bali Ansari confessed during preliminary questioning and was formally arrested. Police produced him in court and secured a six-day police custody remand for detailed forensic recovery and ongoing investigation.
Initially, factory management, family members, and attending police believed Parvez Alam suffered an accidental death due to head and neck entrapment in a moving embroidery machine. The suspect actively maintained this narrative by suggesting a post-mortem was unnecessary. Confusion dissipated when investigators questioned why an operational machine with multiple emergency stop buttons failed to be stopped, combined with medical evidence of throttling and the suspicious state of the victim's powered-off cell phone.
The reconstruction relies on autopsy findings, electronic device analysis, factory CCTV footage, and police interrogation statements. Over a year and a half, Parvez Alam recorded intimate videos of Raza Bali Ansari and refused to erase them despite persistent requests. On the night of February 8, 2025, Raza Bali arranged to meet Parvez during his night shift at Katargam GIDC under the pretext of resolving their disputes. Raza Bali strangled Parvez to death, turned off Parvez's mobile phone, and wedged his head into the embroidery machine to fabricate an occupational accident before exiting the facility.
Coercive digital retention of intimate recordings in undisclosed or highly stigmatized relationships presents a critical risk factor for severe escalation. The fear of social exposure and loss of reputation can drive a partner toward extreme, lethal self-preservation measures. Furthermore, isolated environments like unattended workplace night shifts afford ideal conditions for premeditated interpersonal violence without immediate intervention.
Seemingly straightforward workplace accidents require rigorous digital and forensic vetting, particularly when bodily positioning and safety mechanics conflict with physical likelihood. Behavioral red flags—such as a close associate insisting against an autopsy or seeking immediate custody of a victim's personal digital device—serve as essential indicators of post-offense staging and evidence concealment.
The primary early signal was the victim's mobile phone being found completely switched off at the scene, which registered 60% battery capacity upon power-on. Additionally, suspect Raza Bali Ansari displayed suspicious behavior by urgently pressing officers to surrender the phone to him and verbally downplaying the necessity of a formal post-mortem examination.
Key clues included the availability of multiple emergency shut-off controls on the embroidery machine that would have enabled self-rescue or immediate shutdown, the autopsy finding confirming asphyxiation due to manual strangulation rather than blunt mechanical crushing, and surrounding CCTV video revealing Raza Bali's entry and exit at the factory co-occurring with the time of death.
The strongest evidence types include the formal post-mortem report certifying death by strangulation/throttling, factory CCTV footage placing the accused at the crime scene during the night shift, the victim's powered-off mobile device, and the suspect's detailed oral confession corroborated by circumstantial physical placement.
Factory workers reported arriving in the morning to find Parvez Alam's head trapped between machine components and immediately alerted police and fire officials. Factory personnel and management informed investigators that the embroidery machine could easily be stopped from several access points, ruling out sudden fatal entrapment without human intervention. DCP Bhagirath Gadhavi stated that initial unnatural death proceedings shifted to a murder case after medical and digital evidence directly pointed to manual throttling and staged cover-up by Raza Bali Ansari.
Initial reports described the incident as a tragic industrial fatality during a routine night shift. Subsequent follow-up investigations altered the case narrative entirely after post-mortem analysis proved homicide by strangulation and technical surveillance exposed a hidden intimate relationship marred by extortion and digital blackmail.
It remains under active police investigation whether the suspect succeeded in retrieving or altering digital evidence prior to apprehension, and whether any secondary motive beyond intimate video blackmail contributed to the homicide.