CHENNAI: A 20-year-old college student allegedly killed himself in a tattoo studio in Aminjikarai on Monday after he lost all his savings on a gambling app.
The deceased, Nithish Kumar, lived with his parents and brother in TP Chatram and was a third-year BCA student of a private college. He worked part-time in a tattoo studio in Aminjikarai, said police.
"On Sunday evening, he told his parents he has some work in the tattoo studio. While he did not return home the same night, his parents called him over the phone and since it was switched off, they sent his brother to the studio. He was shocked to find Nithish Kumar hanging from the ceiling at the studio and alerted the owner," said a police officer.
Aminjikarai police rushed to the spot and retrieved his body to send it to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.
A suicide note found on Nithish Kumar said that he lost all his savings on an mobile phone app called Casto Club.
"I also took Rs 20,000 from the studio and lost it on the app," said Nitish Kumar, apologising to the owner (Sekar) for it.
Written in Tamil with English letters, he said nobody is responsible for his decision. Aminjikarai police have registered a case and further investigation is on.
Police said that Nithish Kumar's father runs a grocery shop in the locality.
How the Casto Club app works:
One can trade money on certain colours and digits in the game and if the same colour and digits appear on the screen, you can win up to nine times the money you traded. Each trading lasts about three minutes - first two and half minutes to choose the colour and the digit and the result will be displayed in the next 30 seconds. The money, if you win, can be transferred to your bank account directly, said those who play it.
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)