Chennai woman ends life after losing money in online gambling
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A 29-year-old woman died by suicide in Manali New Town, near Chennai, Sunday after she allegedly lost money on an online gaming platform. The deceased, identified as Bhavani, had been working in a healthcare firm near Kandanchavadi. She is survived by husband Bhagyaraj (35), who is employed in a private firm, near Thoraipakkam, and children aged 3 and 1.5 years.
According to the police, Bhavani, a BS graduate, had the habit of playing online rummy for the past one-and-a-half years and had earned quite a profit in the initial stages. Following this, she had started to invest more in online rummy in the past four months and had reportedly suffered a huge loss. Bhavani had continued online gambling and reportedly lost over Rs 10 lakh. She eventually sought help from her family members to repay the debts.
The police said that even on the fateful day, Bhavani had lost over Rs 30,000 to online rummy. Around 8.30 pm Sunday, after having dinner at her mother’s residence located in the adjacent street, Bhavani returned home telling her family that she would be back soon. But as she did not turn up, Bhagyaraj rushed home and found her dead. She was immediately taken to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.
Saravanan, a relative of Bhavani, told the media that she attempted to invest more and more in online rummy to recover the amount she lost, but her debts only swelled.
“She came to know about the game through her friends and was lured into it after learning that it can earn more money. She used credit cards and later mortgaged her jewellery to play online rummy. Bhavani was so stressed when she wasn’t able to get the money back,” said Saravanan, who urged the government to impose a ban on online rummy.
