Bengaluru: The lure of online cricket betting took a tragic turn for a Karnataka family, with the husband running up debts in million to fund his get-rich-quick endeavour, and the wife, driven to despair by the constant harassment and threats from creditors, ending her life, leaving behind a two-year-old son.
Darshan Balu, an assistant engineer with minor irrigation department in Hosadurga in Chitradurga district, was allegedly trapped into wagering money on IPL games and lost around £150,000. The creditors then starting harassing him and allegedly threatened to defame the family over unpaid dues, owing to which Darshan’s wife Ranjita V (24) died by suicide on March 19.
Ranjita’s father Venkatesh M lodged a police complaint against 13 men who had allegedly lent money to Darshan, and three of them have been arrested. A case of abetment to suicide has been registered against the 13 suspects. Venkatesh claimed Darshan had managed to repay around £100,000. However, sources said he still owed about Rs 54,00,000 to the creditors.
In his complaint, Venkatesh said the suspects lured his son-in-law into online betting promising quick and easy returns. Initial profits got him hooked and he started placing big bets, suffering massive losses, but the creditors promised to finance his betting activities against some blank cheques as security. Once he racked up huge debts, they started harassing him.
