A young man named Hemant Babu, living in Kondakamarla, Obuladevara Cheruvu Mandal of Sri Satya Sai District, Andhra Pradesh, decided to end his life after incurring a total debt of INR 3 lakh in online gaming.

Babu, who worked as a car driver and used to play online rummy games, was facing humiliation and harassment from the loan vendors after not being able to pay off the debt amount. Babu started playing online games after watching its advertisement on several platforms.

After being unable to pay his debt, Babu decided to end his life as he hanged himself with a saree when no one at his home was present. The local police authorities have already started inquiring about the matter after a complaint was lodged by Hemant’s wife. The police advised people to be wary of illegal apps and not to engage in online gaming.

Several similar cases have been reported in India this year

Just like Babu, a 25-year-old student allegedly died by suicide in Indore after failing to repay the money he had taken to play online games in February this year.

“Jitendra Vaskale (25 years), a resident of Indrapuri hostel, hanged himself from the railing of the hostel’s stairs late Monday night,” Ramprasad Malviya, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Bhawarkuan police station, said.

“A suicide note found in Vaskale’s pocket said he had taken a loan to play some online games that offered prize money. But he kept on losing money in these games and failed to repay the loan. The loan amount has not been mentioned in the note,” he said.

As per the local police, Vaskale’s parents work in Maharashtra, as their son studying in the Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA) course. The 25-year-old was also working as a security guard to meet his day-to-day expenses.