Siliguri, April 17 -- A 17-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide following a massive financial loss incurred while playing online games. The deceased, identified as Avik Paul alias Sujoy, a resident of Ghoghomali in Ward 37 in Siliguri, was a class 11 student at Ghoghomali High School.
According to police sources, he had unknowingly fallen victim to a gaming-related fraud that led to nearly Rs 2.5 lakh being siphoned off from his father's bank account.
The incident happened on Wednesday when his mother went to the market to buy fish for him. When his mother returned home, she discovered that Sujoy had locked himself in his room.
Despite repeated calls, there was no response. Looking through the window, she was horrified to find her son hanging from the ceiling fan. Locals rushed him to Siliguri District Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Sources stated that he had become addicted to online games and had accessed his father's account to fund in-game purchases or gambling.
His friend Sumit Saha said: "He lost a lot of money in online games and couldn't face the consequences. That's probably the cause of his death."
Bishwa Chand Thakur, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, said: "All angles are being looked into, including the online fraud aspect."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.