Bangalore:
Ranjitha, a 23-year-old housewife, was found hanging at her home in Chitradurga in Karnataka. While police investigated the death, they uncovered a grim story of cricket betting and a debt of over Rs 1 crore involving her husband Darshan Babu.
Darshan Babu, an assistant engineer in the Minor Irrigation Department, started betting on IPL matches in 2021, a year after his marriage to Ranjitha. His father-in-law says Darshan was lured into cricket betting with the promise of quick money.
Darshan was told that he could easily make money by betting on IPL matches and there was hardly any risk involved. The gang running the betting even promised to finance his bets if he gave them blank checks as security.
The engineer, who police say is in his late 20s, relented and started betting on Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. He won first and started placing bigger bets.
But luck, as it often does, turned its back on him and left a trail of losses. Hooked on the allure of gambling, he had no option but to borrow money at high interest rates and ended up with debts of over Rs 1 crore by the end of the IPL season in 2023.
The weight of Darshan’s debts weighed heavily on the young couple, who have a two-year-old son. What also followed was constant harassment by the moneylenders, which eventually drove Ranjitha to suicide.
The police found Ranjitha at her home on March 18. During the investigation, they also found a suicide note detailing continued threats and intimidation by the lenders.
Her father has named thirteen people in his complaint and accused them of intimidating and threatening the couple.
Three of the lenders have been arrested and police say investigations into the case are ongoing.
Ranjitha’s tragic death has sparked a conversation about the murky world of online gambling. Last year, the Enforcement Directorate unearthed a gambling ring called Mahadev, where the promoters had collected over Rs 400 crore. The Mahadev app only came under the crosshairs of investigative agencies after a Rs 200 crore wedding in the UAE in February, paid entirely in cash.