Medical Student Dies by Suicide After Losing Thousands in Online Gaming

He was weeks away from finishing his MBBS. His father's dream was that Anishkar Chouhan would become a doctor, following in the footsteps of his elder sister, who had graduated from the same Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences before becoming a physician in Bengaluru. Instead, Chouhan was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room at the college hostel.

Chouhan, 21, a resident of Salgar Thanda village in Chincholi taluk, Kalaburagi district, was found dead at the BRIMS hostel on Tuesday. The incident took place at around 12:30 am in the college hostel. The matter came to light after fellow students and hostel staff noticed the situation and alerted authorities.

The financial picture that emerged during the initial investigation is grim. Superintendent of Police Pradeep Gunti said, "During the investigation, it was revealed that he had taken loans. Going through his WhatsApp messages, we found that he had been playing online games and borrowed Rs 70,000–80,000 from friends, which he lost to online gaming." He had also taken loans earlier due to his alleged addiction to online gaming, police said, noting he had suffered financial losses in the past as well. The mounting debt and alleged pressure from lenders to repay the money are suspected to have driven him to take the extreme step.

Some data on his phone had been deleted, and efforts were underway to retrieve the information and identify the exact apps or games that he played. Forensic experts examined the scene alongside local police, with SP Gunti personally visiting the hostel to review the circumstances of the case.

Chouhan's father, Shamrao Chauhan, expressed shock and grief, saying his son was a good student. He claimed Anishkar had told him not to play online games, but had never mentioned playing them himself. His father told media it was the family's dream for their son to become a doctor. The family is said to be in deep shock and is preparing to file a complaint; police have stated a case will be registered and further investigation will be carried out.

SP Gunti noted that preliminary information confirms the student died by suicide after losing money in an online game, and that WhatsApp chats related to the game had been found. Investigators have not yet publicly identified the specific platforms involved, pending recovery of the deleted phone data.

Chouhan's death arrives amid widening concern in India over real-money online gaming and its reach into student communities. A final-year medical student, months from a degree his entire family had sacrificed for, spent his last months drowning in borrowed money chasing losses in apps that left no trace except WhatsApp messages and a deleted history police are still trying to reconstruct.

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