Mobile-game-addicted man ends life after failing to repay debts

Jajpur: A 22-year-old man allegedly died by suicide after failing to repay loans he had taken from people after suffering losses to the tune of lakhs of rupees in mobile games, police said on Monday.

The incident happened on Sunday night in Kadubani village under the jurisdiction of the Kaliapani police station, a police officer said, adding he used to play online games and suffered huge financial losses.

The deceased, identified as Srinivasa Nayak alias Lincon, was the only son of Brajabandhu Nayak of Kadubani village, the police officer said.

Lincon had dinner with his family before going to his bedroom on Sunday night. When he did not wake up in the morning, the concerned family members knocked on his door.

Then his family broke open the door of his room and found his body hanging from the ceiling.

Employed as a contract worker in a private mining company, Lincon had allegedly incurred financial losses amounting to several lakhs of rupees while playing online games on his mobile phone.

To mitigate these losses, he had taken loans from various self-help groups in his village through his mother.

Facing relentless pressure from moneylenders to repay the debts, Lincon is believed to have taken the drastic step of ending his life, the police officer said.

The police later recovered the body and sent it for a post-mortem examination. After registering an unnatural death case, the police have initiated an investigation to ascertain the circumstances leading to Lincon’s suicide.

“We are investigating the case to ascertain the circumstances leading to the suicide of the youth. We are also examining his bank records, which may shed further light on the reasons behind his decision,” said a senior police officer.