BHOPAL: The inability to repay mounting debts arising from an addiction to online casino betting game Aviator reportedly prompted a roadside trader to poison himself, his wife and teenage daughter in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh.
While the trader identified as Shankar Lal Gupta and his 16-year-old daughter Swati Gupta died in less than 24 hours, due to the poison mixed in a cold drink bottle, his wife Rajkumari Gupta is battling for life in critical condition at the Shahdol Medical College Hospital.
Shankar Lal committed the extreme step after sending his 15-year-old son Aniket Gupta to a friend's shop on Wednesday evening.
His nephew Krishna Gupta said, “My uncle was a well to do businessman who ran a mobile phone and accessories business, but plunged into mounting debts after addiction to online game Aviator inflicted heavy financial losses on him,” he said.
“From the information available with us, he (Shankar Lal) recently lost a major sum in the game and was disturbed since then. He came home Wednesday with a 2 litre cold drink bottle and consumed it with his daughter and wife after sending his son to a friend’s shop. Just sometime later, all three of them started vomiting," he said.
"First my sister (cousin) died, when we returned from her cremation, my uncle had also died. Now my aunt is in critical condition at the hospital. He ran a proper shop and had a good life before he became addicted to online gaming and lost everything. He was currently running a roadside shop,” the deceased trader’s nephew added.
“He had also borrowed heavily and was under intense pressure to repay the loans,” he added.
Police investigations have revealed transactions worth around Rs 12 lakh in the three bank accounts operated by Shankar Lal Gupta over the last two years. “The transaction details revealed that he had withdrawn over Rs 4 lakh in cash in the same period. Sums ranging between Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 were withdrawn frequently. The ongoing probe also suggests that he had taken a bank loan, whose details are being found out by our team,” Shahdol district police superintendent Ramji Shrivastava told TNIE on Friday.
As per sources associated with the ongoing investigation, police are hoping that the condition of Shankar Lal’s wife Rajkumari improves and their son Aniket comes out of the deep shock of the twin tragedies in his family to record their statements for making headway in the probe.
“We’re unable to comprehend why he sent his son out of the house, before allegedly getting his wife, daughter and himself to consume the cold drink laced with poison. But from the probe till now, there is a strong possibility of online game addiction, associated losses and inability to repay debt, being the possible drivers of the extreme step. Further probe based on his son and wife’s statements will help the probe move further,” said a senior police officer in Shahdol district.
Aviator is a popular casino game where players place bets on whether the next card will be higher or lower than the previous one. The game is easy to understand, making it a popular choice for both experienced and novice players.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, help is available anytime for you or your friends. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas -14416 (24x7) or call, Tata Institute- 02225521111 (Mon-Sat 8 am-10 pm))