A 39-year-old woman committed suicide on Thursday night after she got to know that her husband lost money she had saved for paying her son’s school fee in online rummy.
The deceased worked as a domestic maid and was the sole breadwinner of her family. She had saved 25,000 to pay the fee for her son.  Her husband Suresh, 40, was jobless and addicted to online rummy.

“On Thursday, Bhuvaneshwari found that the money was missing from her bank account and confronted her husband, who told her that he had lost the money in rummy,” said an investigating officer according to media reports.

All the opposition parties in the state are united on the issue with the ruling party affirming its commitment to enact a strong law. The ruling DMK has lambasted the AIADMK for enacting a weak law that could not stand scrutiny of the courts. CM Stalin said the law will be enacted this time that can stand scrutiny by the courts.

The Justice Chandru committee constituted today will look into the financial losses incurred while playing the game, suicidal tendencies of people who lose money, analyse the ill-effects of online rummy through data, and the impact of the advertisements on people to play the game and recommend a law. The committee is given 2 weeks to submit its report.

Earlier this month, the Tamil Nadu government announced that it will form a special investigation team to inquire into the death by suicide of persons who were caught in a debt trap by online gambling. A Superintendent of Police from the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) would lead the SIT.

Tamil Nadu DGP C. Sylendra Babu recently warned the public that playing online rummy could lead to debt and suicide. The top cop in an awareness video said the number of people losing money and jewellery due to online gaming has increased in the last few months.