Odisha woman, son borrowed money to bet on IPL matches, lost. Died by suicide: Cop

BHUBANESWAR: A 55-year-old woman and her 22-year-old son in Rayagada district of Odisha died by suicide after losing money in betting on matches of the ongoing mega cricketing event, Indian Premier League (IPL), police said on Saturday

Published on: May 8, 2022, 03:05:16 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: A 55-year-old woman and her 22-year-old son in Rayagada district of Odisha died by suicide after losing money in betting on matches of the ongoing mega cricketing event, Indian Premier League (IPL), police said on Saturday.

Police said the woman had a long pending loan taken for her daughter’s wedding four years ago (Getty Images)

Police said the woman had borrowed money to get her daughter married four years ago and was under pressure from lenders to repay the money. In the hope that they will be able to repay the loan, the woman and her son borrowed money to bet on the IPL matches but lost.

Rayagada sub divisional police officer JP Das said a few days ago, the lenders locked their house forcing the woman and her son to stay outside the house. They could enter their house only after the intervention of local police.

Neighbours told the police that the woman hadn’t had a meal for three days because she was too stressed about repaying her loans. Three days ago, some of the lenders allegedly created a nuisance in the neighbourhood and took away some valuables including a refrigerator and inverter.

Police said the two ate poison late on Friday night. Their neighours rushed them to a local hospital from where they were shifted to the Rayagada district headquarters hospital, where the son died on Saturday morning while his mother died a few hours later.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More