A young man from Mayiladuthurai took his own life after losing money in an online rummy game. The deceased, Dinaseelan (31), son of Panneerselvam, was a resident of Periyatheru, Mayiladuthurai, and worked at a private hostel in Swamimalai.
On Wednesday morning, Dinaseelan followed his usual routine, but when he stayed in his room for a long time it raised concern. The hostel management checked on him and discovered that he had hanged himself from the ceiling fan, reported The Hindu Tamil.
The hostel management promptly informed his relatives in Mayiladuthurai and notified the Swamimalai police. Following a complaint from Dinaseelan’s mother, Kasthuri, the police registered a case and began investigating the incident.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Dinaseelan had borrowed money from various people in Mayiladuthurai and lost it all playing online rummy. To help him, his relatives secured him a job at the Swamimalai hostel just two months ago. However, since moving there, Dinaseelan continued to lose more money playing rummy online.
Before committing suicide, Dinaseelan wrote a note explaining his distress over his inability to repay the borrowed money. The police have seized the note and are conducting further investigations.
There has been an increasing number of suicides related to online gambling cases in Tamil Nadu following a court ruling that excluded rummy and poker from the Online Gambling Prohibition Act. Politicians like Ambumani Ramadoss have been vocal in requesting the state government to act against this ruling to change the laws.