Koyilandy: The Crime Branch has cracked the mysterious suicide of a young woman last December. A probe found that the woman hailing from Cheliya Malayil in Koyilandy ended her after losing huge money in online rummy games.
She had indulged in financial transactions running into Rs 1.75 crore and suffered a loss of lakhs of rupees while playing a series of online rummy games, the probe revealed.
It was on December 12 that Bijisha, an employee working with the store department of a private telecom company, was seen hanging in her room at her house. For relatives and friends, it was unbelievable that she took such an extreme step as she seemed to lead a normal life.
But later, it was found that she had pledged gold, which was kept for her marriage by the family, for Rs 35 lakh. Smelling foul play, the relatives approached the police for detailed probe.
The Crime Branch, which took over the probe, stumbled upon unsettling facts. Bijisha had actually fallen into the trap of online rummy racket. She first started off with ordinary online games during 2020-21, the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, she turned to playing online rummy for money. At first, she tasted success. This emboldened her to invest more money in the illegal card game. She made all her online money transactions through UPI App. But soon she started losing money in a large way. She began taking loan from online financiers to continue her tryst with the game.
Unable to pay her debts, she was in extreme difficulty. It is also found in the police inquiry that she suffered a loss of face when online money lenders sent messages to her friends, teasing her for not repaying the loan. This all forced her to commit suicide.
The Crime Branch also detected that one of her friends was also involved in the online rummy racket.
But her relatives clarified that nobody had approached them after her suicide, seeking repayment of the money she borrowed.
