TN govt hiding gaming suicide data, says Anbumani Ramadoss

CHENNAI: PMK founder Ramadoss alleged that the State government has provided wrong information about the number of persons who committed suicide due to online gambling, to the Madras High Court.

In a statement, the senior leader said that the government informed the court that only 47 persons committed suicide between 2019 and 2024. “But, about 84 persons have committed suicide since 2019 due to online gambling,” he said.

Saying that the government was trying to favour online gaming firms, he termed it as unfair. Ramadoss pointed out that the first suicide due to online gaming occurred in 2016. “Online gaming went to its peak during the COVID lockdown. In 2021, the court set aside an Act passed by the government to ban the games,” he recalled.

In a separate statement, party president Anbumani Ramadoss said that the State Crime Records Bureau data show that as many as 6,597 murders have occurred in TN after DMK came to power. “On average, 4.54 murders have happened in the State every day. Whenever the law and order issue is raised, the government makes statements to claim the numbers have come down,” he said