Stock market desperation drove this man to betray his wife

Source: Stephen Scarboro on Unsplash.com

Stock market and cryptocurrency trading are very high-risk markets that have been in quite a trend over the years. However, the consequences of these high-risk markets are devastating on many levels, mainly personal, financial and psychological levels. It can be seen through a recent case where a man, desperate to recover his lost money in the stock market, orchestrated his own kidnapping to fool his wife and family.

It is seen that in a recent case of Jignesh Talaviya, a 36-year-old accountant who, in June 2026, in Surat, lost around 50 Lakhs in the stock market options trading, faked his kidnapping to ask for a ransom of an equal amount from his family, who were fooled into thinking that he was kidnapped. The whole incident was craft fully planned and executed.

His wife was fooled into thinking he had gone missing and filed a report with the police. A viral video was seen where he was bound with ropes, and the assumed kidnapper asked for the ransom. Upon investigation, the police found him in a hotel in Godhra, where he was caught and confessed to how he planned his own kidnapping to reinstate the money that was lost from continuous trading in the stock market.

The major reason behind this incident was the loss of capital for Jignesh. However, psychologically speaking, Jignesh was led to this fate through an addiction to continuous trading that is usually caused by the dopamine rush induced by s ‘wins’ under one’s belt. This addiction is a behavioural disorder that can be found in any field.

However, trading addiction is fueled by the 24 by 7 access to assets such as cryptocurrency sites, constant access to markets and gamified apps. These lead to the user developing a habit of investing and rushing into things that they would usually not do. This addiction, fueled by a certain number of wins, leads to a high rise in a person’s confidence.

What Jignesh here faced was also a demon of the same kind. This led to his arrest under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that replace the IPC code here, including Sections 212, 217, and 233, for misleading law enforcement and fabricating evidence. This one decision of his not only cast a shadow on his life but also on the life of his wife, whom he essentially betrayed.

Jignesh’s staged kidnapping could be easily found out by the police due to certain factors. Staged kidnapping is usually staged by the victim themselves for various reasons, like avoiding professional consequences, gaining attention, or extorting money from family members.

To detect staged kidnapping, forensic video analysis can be used. It checks for any unusual lighting/shadows, inconsistent body language, and forced micro-expressions that genuine victims rarely display. Ultimately, when found out, they are arrested under Section 182 of the Indian Penal Code, providing false information to a public servant that leads to the misuse of their power, which is punishable by imprisonment or fines, depending on the severity of the case.

In the end, it all comes back to why people fall to using such measures.

Jignesh here was desperate to get back his lost capital. 50 Lakhs is a large amount for anyone living in India, especially middle-class families. Stock markets and trading are good ways to earn money. However, their drawbacks are severe too. One can never be too careful in this field.

In some ways, stock market and trading investments are similar to diving in dark water. The future is uncertain, and your eyes might fail to see the danger. Nothing is predetermined, and whatever is, can be bound to change anytime. The most concerning aspect is that people tend to ignore the patterns and behavioural responses that are signs of trading addiction. This fuels their chances of facing a big loss, like Jignesh here, even faster than gas fueling a fire. It is very important to mitigate the problem early, so as not to end up with a state of mind even worse than that of Jignesh.

The key signs that can be seen throughout a person’s journey in trading that will lead to trading addiction and increase their chances of facing heavy losses are compulsive price checking—this can be as extreme as checking even more than dozens of times a day; skipping work or family obligations to monitor markets, and an overpowering urge to trade during unconventional hours.

Psychologically, this takes a huge toll on our minds. Constant losses lead to excessive stress, insomnia, paranoia, and low self-esteem. These can lead to creating or catalysing even greater problems in other fields of a person’s life as well. Except for facing an even larger loss, these mental issues that take heart in a person are far more lethal than any other drawback.

One example is of an IIT/IIM graduate, describing losing ₹1.5 crore and feeling "completely numb," unable to face a family he was supposed to support. Trading can be this dangerous. It can quite literally take you from feeling an adrenaline rush to feeling absolutely nothing at all, all within a short span of time.

However, far worse than this is trying to reinstate the loss with another bet on a trade. Traders often fall victim to loss aversion, feeling the pain of loss more than the joy of gain, and the illusion of control, leading them to take even riskier revenge trades to recoup losses. These two phenomena are more prone to lead to even greater losses and are highly influenced by the negative effects of one’s psychological change due to trading.

To resolve these issues and become more self-aware of their situation, there are multiple pieces of advice available to recover successfully. Immediate steps include disabling push alerts, adding website locks, and informing a trusted person of the situation so that it can be handled with the insight of someone else helping you, too. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a clinical solution that is highly effective in managing the impulsive thoughts linked to market predictions.

Recovery methods also include getting financial counselling, as it helps in structuring your thoughts and finding a stable solution for future investments and steps to be taken. It gives the person the reassurance they need and helps with looking at the picture from different perspectives with the help of the financial counsellor.

At the end of the day, it is a person’s will alone that will decide what outcome they face. Their own actions will be reaped, and their own diligence will give support.

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