Madhya Pradesh, July 31:

A 13-year-old boy died by suicide after losing ₹40,000 in an online game in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, police said.

Police recovered a suicide note, allegedly written by the boy, apologising to his parents for spending ₹40,000 from his mother’s bank account while playing an online game called Free Fire. According to the note, the boy was depressed as he continued to lose money, said Sachin Sharma, superintendent of police Chhatarpur.

“The boy’s father runs a pathology lab while his mother works in the district hospital’s pathology department. On Friday, the mother was at the hospital when she received a message notifying her of a transaction of ₹1,500, done from her account. She scolded her son over the phone for spending money on the online game. Later, the boy went to his room and hanged himself. The boy’s elder sister, who first saw him, called the parents. The boy was rushed to a district hospital where he was declared brought dead by doctors,” Sharma said.

Police are investigating if he was himself spending money on the game or if someone else was threatening him for money.