Two suicides in TN, former CM demands ban on online gaming (read gambling)

Published on:

Manikandan, a multinational bank official from Chennai, has committed suicide after killing his wife and two sons. The tragedy, which took place on Friday, came to light on Saturday evening. Manikandan, who was in a good position in a private bank lost nearly a crore rupees by becoming addicted to online gambling. Manikandan lost all his savings and was said to have borrowed up to Rs 75 lakh. On December 31, a group of creditors visited his home and demanded he pay off debts, reported the Tamil portal of ABP News.

Manikandan is the seventh reported suicide in Tamil Nadu after the landmark Madras High Court judgement in August that quashed the state government’s online gaming ban law. In another incident, a cable TV operator Kumaravelu from Kallakurichi district after losing up to Rs 4 lakh to online rummy. Depressed due to the situation, Kumaravelu committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree.

In this background, PMK founder S. Ramadoss asked the government how many lives should be sacrificed before a law is enacted or the Supreme Court decides on the appeal by the Tamil Nadu government.

Also read: Meghalaya Gaming Rules impose 5-year experience and 2 crores annual fee for a license, no entry for locals

The Tamil Nadu government has appealed to the Supreme Court against the Chennai High Court’s decision. However, the case has not yet been listed for hearing in the Supreme Court. The case is expected to be listed this month. In the appeal before the Supreme Court, the government raised the issue of youth suicides due to online gambling addiction as one of the reasons for enacting a ban.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”ta” dir=”ltr”>நீதிமன்ற உத்தரவால் மீண்டும் ஆன்லைன் சூதாட்டம் தொடங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது, இளைஞர்கள் <br>மற்றும் பல குடும்பங்களையும் பாழாக்கும் இத்தகைய சூதாட்டத்தை அரசு சட்டம் இயற்றி தடை செய்ய மறுப்பது கண்டிக்கத்தக்கது.உடனடியாக ஆன்லைன் சூதாட்டத்திற்கு தடை கொண்டு வர இந்த விடியா அரசை வலியுறுத்துகிறேன். (2/2)</p>&mdash; Edappadi K Palaniswami (@EPSTamilNadu) <a href=”https://twitter.com/EPSTamilNadu/status/1477912862580305926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

In November, a 31-year-old car driver committed suicide after allegedly losing INR 20 lakhs to online rummy. The victim was identified as S Murugan, a resident of Bharathidasan Street in East Tambaram, Chennai. Murugan worked as an auto driver for some time. He ended up taking menial jobs and driving cars to earn more money. He took up online rummy to meet his day-to-day expenses which spiralled him into a debt trap.

Last week, Mr A. Ramadoss, a Rajya Sabha member and son of S. Ramadoss said that gambling became rampant after the Madras High Court decision. The MP cited an example of one victim, a software engineer from Kumarapalayam who committed himself after losing Rs 30 lakh in online rummy. Another victim a resident of Tambaram Anandapuram committed suicide recently after losing money in online gambling. Meanwhile, the former CM and AIDMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami whose government enacted the now quashed gaming law has demanded the DMK government to enact a new law.

In November, we reported the suicide of a man hailing from the Palayakkadu Rajamama area of ​​Tiruppur district committing suicide after incurring losses in online rummy. Last month, Chairman of Rajya Sabha and Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu during a discussion in the Upper House said the online games are not skill games but kill games

The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court days after the quashing decision stated that it expects the Tamil Nadu government to bring in law within six months to ban online gaming for stakes in the state after S Muthukumar, a Madurai-based advocate, in a petition sought to impose a ban on online rummy.

Related