Police said they were investigating if debt was the cause of the family's death. (Representational)
A goldsmith in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district committed suicide by consuming cyanide on Thursday reportedly after suffering huge loss after buying illegal three digit online lottery. The man also killed his wife and three children and also allegedly filmed their final moments on his phone.
In the video, M Arun is heard confessing that he was prompted to commit suicide due to huge debt he incurred due to lottery, absence of financial help and urges for steps to eradicate "three-number" raffle. Police said he was debt ridden and had difficulties in paying back his creditors.
The video also shows the final moments of his wife and two children, aged 6 and 3, while they are gasping for breath. Another baby, hardly one-year-old, is seen lying unconscious on the floor.
Another video of the man shows him hugging his wife, as he confesses to killing his children and his wife.
"Please eradicate lottery in Villupuram, the three-number lottery. At least 10 persons who are in similar circumstances will be able to survive," he says in the clip.
He is also seen making a request to the "association", perceived to be a reference to a local goldsmith collective, to extend help to debt ridden people like him. "We cannot live here and we are going without giving trouble to anyone," he said.
Arun is said to have incurred over Rs 30 lakh in debt owing to losses in his new business endeavour and due to his obsession with online lottery.
District police chief Jaya Kumar told NDTV they were investigating if debt was the cause of the family's death.
On the charge that illegal lotteries are being run, the official said that over 147 cases were registered and over 150 people have been arrested. In this particular case, 13 people, involved in the lottery network have been taken into custody, he said.
PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said the incident was shocking and demanded action against the illegal lottery trade.
After illegal lottery was banned in 2003, many of those engaged in the trade continued to do so illegally since they did not have other source of income.
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