Driven by IPL betting loss, man commits suicide near Parliament

A 39-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree near Parliament complex this morning, leaving behind a 23-page suicide note claiming he suffered huge losses by betting in IPL and wanted his personal plight to be highlighted.

Ram Dayal Verma, a native of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh, arrived in the national capital yesterday. Around 7.15 AM today, his body was found hanging from the tree located between Rail Bhawan and the media parking centre near Vijay Chowk, close to Parliament, police said.

The police recovered the suicide note from his pocket. In the 23-page note, he claimed he was under immense financial crunch and had undergone tremendous losses in betting during the IPL tournament.

Verma named at least four persons in the note and the amounts he owed to them. The total amount is believed to have exceeded a crore.

In the note, Verma mentioned he wanted his personal plight to be highlighted and he did not want to die anonymous, an official privy to the investigation said.

DCP (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal said, "An inquest under Section 174 of CrPC has been initiated into the matter. The contents in the note are also being investigated."

Verma is married and has children. His family has been informed about the incident. He had come here yesterday and stayed somewhere in Kotwali region of north Delhi, police said.