A 54-year-old yarn commission agent of Ellapalayam in the city has ended his life after claiming in a video that he lost ₹62 lakh in a lottery here on Friday evening.
J. Radhakrishnan of Mullai Nagar in a self-recorded WhatsApp video said he lost the money to a lottery agent Senthil Kumar of Karungalpalayam, who is the husband of Ward 39 councillor in Erode Corporation. He said he could not bear the loss and hence was forced to take a decision.
He sought compensation of ₹30 lakh from the agent and asked his friends and Minister for Housing and Urban Development S. Muthusamy to claim the money from the agent and hand it over to his family. He also wanted a government job for his daughter who is a widow. He appealed to the Minister to ban the lottery completely as many families were affected. He sent the video to a few of his friends and ended his life at home.
Based on a complaint from his wife Malathi,52, Erode North Police registered a case under Section 174 Cr.P.C. and sent the body to the District Headquarters Hospital for a post-mortem. The victim is survived by his wife and two daughters. His elder daughter is living with her husband at Kumarapalayam.
Preliminary inquiries reveal that Radhakrishnan suffered a loss in his power loom business and turned as a commission agent. Due to the loss, he was under financial crisis. Senior police officials said his claim in the video that he lost the money in the lottery was being probed. “We are gathering evidence to know when he lost the money,” the officials said.
A release from the district police said that from June 2021 to May 2022, 147 cases related to online lottery sales were registered and 215 persons were arrested and sent to judicial custody. “Steps were taken to curb sale of lottery tickets in the district,” the release added.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044- 24640050).
