Amethi tea vendor dies by suicide after winning lottery

In an unusual incident, a 24-year-old tea vendor in Amethi, named Rakesh, took his own life late on Wednesday after winning Rs 3.55 lakh in an online lottery, ToI reported on August 30.

The joy of winning turned out to be short-lived as three local individuals seized his identification documents and threatened to entangle him in a loan fraud unless he paid them Rs 1 lakh. His mother, Shanti Devi, filed an FIR on Thursday implicating Anurag Jaiswal, Tufaan Singh, Vishal Singh, and Hansraj Maurya for abetment to suicide and criminal intimidation.

Amethi SP Anup Singh told ToI, "The accused seized Rakesh's Aadhaar, PAN cards, and mobile phone on the pretext of getting him Rs 1.6 lakh TDS refunded. When he demanded back his goods, they assaulted him. They threatened to ruin the life of his family by misusing his identity cards to secure a hefty loan in his name if he failed to pay them Rs 1 lakh."


Rakesh, who was unmarried and had lost his father five years ago and a brother a few months back, succumbed to depression due to the threats. He ended his life in his room, the SP added.