Karnataka: Woman dies by suicide after husband runs up Rs 1 cr debt

Darshan Babu, an assistant engineer employed in the Minor Irrigation Department at Hosadurga, was hooked to betting on cricket matches and placed major bets on IPL games since 2021. He used to borrow money to fund his bets or when he lost his bets.

Fed up by the constant harassment by creditors, on March 18, Darshan’s wife Ranjitha hung herself at her home in Karnataka’s Chitradurga, said media reports.

According to the family, Darshan had notched up a massive debt of ₹1 crore, while betting in IPL matches for three years from 2021 to 2023.

He had allegedly borrowed over ₹1.5 crores to place the bets and lost his money. While he managed to return ₹1 crore, cops said that he still had to pay the pending amount of ₹ 84 lakhs.

In his complaint to the police, Ranjitha’s father said that his daughter was extremely troubled by the constant harassment of moneylenders and this led to her suicide. He has also named 13 men who had allegedly lent the money to Darshan.

Darshan was lured into the field of betting with a promise of quick money, the father said about his son-in-law. The suspects forced Darshan to bet assuring him that it is an easy way to get rich. They promised to finance his betting activities against some blank cheques as security, he added.

In her suicide note, Ranjitha, who is a mother of a two-year-old son, gave details about the harassment the couple had to deal with.