CHENNAI: Pointing out that five people have died by suicide in the last 15 days due to losses incurred in online gambling, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the state government to ensure a ban against online gambling to safeguard people.

In a statement, Anbumani said that Dhinaseelan, a native of Mayiladuthurai died by suicide in Thanjavur after suffering huge debt due to online gambling. “The victim had borrowed money from relatives and friends to play online gambling games and subsequently lost the money. When the relatives and friends asked him to return the money, his family members helped him pay it. Even after shifting to Thanjavur, Dhinaseelan continued to play online gambling using his salary and suffered financial losses, ” he added.

Anbumani said that suicides due to online gambling have increased after the Madras High Court lifted the ban on them in November, stating that rummy and poker are skill-based games. “In the last six months, 12 persons have committed suicide. Of the total suicides, 6 suicides occurred between April 29 and May 29,” the PMK leader stated.

Opining that the only solution to prevent suicides was for a Supreme Court order banning online gambling, he added that even after six months since the HC’s order, the government had not taken any measures to get a ban. “The government should wake up and safeguard people by getting a ban from the apex court, ” Anbumani urged.

Meanwhile, party founder S Ramadoss told mediapersons that the ruling DMK had promised to fill 3.5 lakh vacancies for government jobs and create 2 lakh new government jobs. But, only 2,758 vacancies have been filled in the last 3 years through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), he stated, adding that during the same period, one lakh government employees had retired. “How can the state government fill 6 lakh posts in the remaining two years of its regime,” he asked.