Lottery-addict man kills children, ends life with wife

In a shocking incident, a 33-year-old goldsmith and his wife poisoned their three children before killing themselves due to losses incurred by the man in business and his addiction to the lottery, which is banned in Tamil Nadu.

M Arun, his wife Sivagami (26) and three minor daughters were found dead in their house in Villupuram, 170 km from here, on Friday morning. Arun had recorded a video message on his mobile phone before he and his wife ended their lives and forwarded it to his friends on WhatsApp.

On seeing the message, some of his friends rushed to the couple’s house and alerted the police. Initial investigations have revealed that Arun, a goldsmith by profession, had suffered losses to the tune of more than Rs 30 lakh in his business and by purchasing a huge number of three-digit lotteries which are sold illegally in Villupuram.

Villupuram district Superintendent of Police (SP) S Jeyakumar told DH that Arun had suffered huge losses in his business and had even sold his factory and properties to pay back debts. “Despite that, he was not able to pay back all his dues. As pressure mounted from people whom he owed money, he seemed to have taken this decision. Moreover, he was into illegal lottery too,” he said.

In two videos – one running into 2.13 minutes and another that lasts 45 seconds – Arun said he and his wife would consume the cyanide mixed in alcohol and end their lives. The video also has shots of his three children lying dead in the bed and on the floor of their bedroom.

“I should learn lessons from you. But I won’t learn any lessons. There is no place for truth in this world and I have fed cyanide to all my three children. I am also going to consume cyanide along with my wife. At least, you people live happily and please abolish lottery tickets in Villupuram. Abolish the three-digit lottery tickets,” Arun said in the video to friends, with his wife leaning on his left shoulder.

“No one is good, and no one is bad on this earth. And see, all my children are dying in front of my eyes. We don’t want to be a burden to anyone on this earth,” Arun added.

Jeyakumar said Arun had been addicted to the three-digit lottery to overcome the losses that he suffered from his business. “After selling his factory and properties, he was running a finance firm before closing it down. For the past few months, Arun was operating from his house,” he said.

Lottery is banned in Tamil Nadu, but its illegal sale goes on rampantly in several places, especially in Villupuram. The three-digit lottery is operated in Villupuram illegally from Kerala through agents who buy tickets in bulk and send their serial numbers through mobile phones to customers here.

On steps taken to curb the sale of the illegal lottery, Jeyakumar said the district police has registered 280 cases in this regard out of which 143 were filed in Villupuram alone. “Since the numbers are being shared on mobile phones of individuals by agents, it becomes difficult for us. But we have been taking action to curb such illegal activities,” he said.