Engineering student ends life over debt due to online gaming in AP

The deceased has been identified as Vittanala Mohan Krishna, a native of Vetlapalem village in Konaseema district.
For representational purposes (Express Illustrations)
For representational purposes (Express Illustrations)

RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: A 21-year-old engineering student on Saturday ended his life in Bommuru, police said on Sunday. The deceased has been identified as Vittanala Mohan Krishna, a native of Vetlapalem village in the Konaseema district. He was studying engineering at a college in Bapatla district.

Bommuru Circle inspector Vijay Kumar said Mohan was addicted to online gaming and had incurred losses of around Rs 80,000. Ten days ago, he had returned home in Swaroopa Nagar from college.His mother, Pushpanjali, had reportedly reprimanded him for not focusing on his studies. Following this, Mohan left home and committed suicide at an abandoned house on the outskirts of Bommuru.

Police rushed to the spot after being informed of the incident. They shifted the body to a government hospital for post mortem. Investigation is underway.Recently, an inter-ministerial task force set up by Ministry for Electronics and IT in its report proposed to create a central regulatory body that will highlight difference between games of skill and chance, and bring online gaming under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, among other things.

The task force observed that many betting and gambling websites, illegal in India, have become popular among Indian users as they are widely advertised and allow users to transact in Indian rupees through digital payment modes.

Suicide Helpline
OneLife: 78930-78930
Roshni, Hyderabad-based NGO: 040-66202000

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com