Techie kills self after losses in online gaming in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: A software engineer employed with a prominent IT major killed himself in Hyderabad on Tuesday after running losses in online gaming. The case is the first of its kind since police broke a racket in August last year and arrested a Chinese national.
Police said Ravi Kumar, 28, who was employed in Bangalore, killed himself by hanging at his Patancheru residence after getting into a debt trap by playing online.Police say online gaming is a Rs 1,100-crore racket, with many youngsters hooked.
In August 2020, Central Crime Station sleuths of Hyderabad police busted a similar online gambling racket and arrested four persons, including a Chinese national, Yah Hao. Police accused the Chinese national of organising online gambling portals, and manipulating the outcome of the online gaming against the player. Hao and his three Indian associates were chargesheeted and are in jail.
In a separate instant loan app racket being probed by Telangana police, four more Chinese nationals have been arrested so far.
Police said Kumar had moved to his suburb house with his parents in May last year after lockdown was imposed and was working from home. On Tuesday, when his parents were not home, Kumar locked himself in his room and was later found hanging from the ceiling by his mother.
“Ravi Kumar did not leave any suicide note but his family members said he took the extreme step after getting trapped into debt by playing online gaming,” Prasad, sub-Inspector of Patancherru, told TOI.