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Madras HC seeks police reply to gaming company’s plea
The police said that the murders and the suicide were related to debt of the victim during online gaming app. The company, however, claimed that the victim had last played on their platform in 2017.
Chennai: The Madras high court on Friday directed the Tamil Nadu police to respond by March 14 on a petition by Play Games 24x7 Private Limited challenging the state police which had issued a notice to them regarding the suicide of a man who had also murdered his entire family in 2022.
Justice G Chandrasekharan passed an oral order in this regard.
HT had reported in January 2022 that a family of four, including a one-year-old child, were found dead inside their posh apartment in Chennai’s upscale Perungudi.
The police had claimed that the murders and the suicide were related to debt of the victim during online gaming app. The company, however, claimed that the victim had last played on their platform in 2017.
According to the company, the victim last accessed their platform to play Rummy Circle on 6 April 2017 and he died by suicide on January 2, 2022.
The Tamil Nadu police issued a notice to the company under section 160 of the Code of Criminal Conduct Procedure (CrPC) on January 11, 2023, which was changed to section 302 of the Indian Penal Code once the victim died.
The petitioner claimed that they sent a reply to the police in a week. The petitioner sought a stay on the amended notice issued by the police on February 24.
According to the notice issued by the police, the man, 36, murdered his sons aged 11 and 1.5 years and wife, and then died by suicide due to “online gaming loss.” The police in the notice had asked the company 44 questions related to the victim and Rummy Circle.
Mumbai-based Play Games 24x7 Private Limited submitted their petition running more than 200 pages to the court on March 6. The petitioners claimed that the police “predetermined and concluded” that the death of the man is “due to Rummy Circle” though he had not utilised their platform for five years.
The petitioners alleged that the police are harassing the petitioners under the guise of an inquiry to “aid their ulterior motive to alter the legally permitted business activities” of gaming companies. The company said that they are running their business legally as per Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution.
The court’s order comes a day after the Tamil Nadu cabinet decided on Thursday to re-introduce the Bill banning online gaming in the assembly so it can be sent to Governor R N Ravi for his assent once again. The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Games Bill which was passed on October 19 last year was returned by the Governor to the House recently. The state says that online gambling has claimed 44 lives in the past couple of years.
