SRIKAKULAM: A cricket betting scam drove two brothers from Aludu village in Saravakota mandal to financial ruin, leading one to die by suicide while the other survived. Chettu Suryanarayana (45), and Chettu UmaMahesh (42), who worked as welders in Dubai for several years before settling in their hometown, lost Rs 45 lakh in online cricket betting and faced mounting pressure from creditors.
Unable to cope with the financial burden and fearing damage to their reputation, Uma Mahesh attempted suicide on Wednesday night, and Suryanarayana died by suicide on Friday.
Both brothers, who were married with children, got involved in IPL betting through friends in Narasannapeta. Greedy for quick money, they borrowed large sums from relatives, friends, and acquaintances at high-interest rates. When they failed to recover their losses, creditors began pressuring them for repayment. On Wednesday night, Uma Mahesh consumed toilet-cleaning acid at his home in a suicide attempt. He was rushed to a local hospital and later shifted to GEMS Hospital near Srikakulam, where doctors declared his condition critical.
Hearing about his brother’s condition, Suryanarayana, overcome with distress, hanged himself using a towel tied to the ceiling of the hospital room on Friday morning.
By Friday evening, Mahesh’s condition showed signs of improvement, according to GEMS doctors.