Bidar: A tragic incident has come to light from Karnataka’s Bidar. A 21-year-old medical student was found dead in his hostel room at BRIMS Medical College on Monday night. The deceased has been identified as 21-year-old Anishkar Chouhan from Kalaburagi.
A preliminary probe has found that the final-year student had lost money in online gaming. The police were alerted after the incident came to light around 12.30 am on Tuesday.
“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,” Pradeep Gunti, Superintendent of Police, Bidar, was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Specific details about which online games he played are yet to be confirmed. The officer said that 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. A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway.
Earlier, in August 2025, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 was passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, imposing a blanket ban on real-money games (RMGs), which are defined as any games, whether skill-based or chance-based, where players deposit money to participate with the expectation of monetary rewards.
Nearly 45 crore Indians were losing close to Rs 20,000 crore every year to real-money online games, according to government estimates.
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