An Engineer, Soumitra Nandy aged 27 allegedly died by suicide after reportedly losing money in online gambling reported Odisha daily Sambad. The youth hailed from Ambiliatha village under Jaleswar block and was working with Infosys, Bengaluru. Soumitra wrote two notes addressing his parents and one of his close relatives before consuming a pesticide.

Soumitra was working from home since December 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. Family members claimed that on March 11, 2022, one of the friends of Soumitra lodged a police complaint at Jaleswar Police Station accusing him of dillydallying to return the money that he took from the complainant.

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As per reports, the Jaleswar police summoned Soumitra on basis of the complaint and took his mobile phone and laptop. Soumitra took around Rs 50 lakh loans from different people for online gambling. In another case, Soumitra’s father paid back around Rs 20 lakh loan amount to one of his friends after selling a patch of land.

Family members of Soumitra said since his appearance before the police, he was quite disturbed and consumed a pesticide Tuesday morning. He was rushed to the Jaleswar Hospital and later referred to the Balasore district headquarters hospital. When his condition deteriorated, Soumitra was shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack where he died during treatment on March 16. Relative’s held Soumitra’s friends who loaned him and later blackmailed him responsible for the death.

All kinds of gaming for stakes are prohibited in Odisha under the Odisha Gambling Act, 1955. This enactment is currently challenged before the Odisha High Court.