India: Kanpur man bets wife in IPL and loses

A man from the city of Kanpur in north India put up his wife as a stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and lost. Ravinder Singh reportedly lost all his money in share markets and turned to the IPL to make some money, police said, as reported by the Hindustan Times.

Jasmeet Kaur was unaware that her husband had wagered her until the gamblers who won the bet started harassing her.

According to the Times of India, Kaur, who is a boutique owner, approached the local police with the help of social activists. The police have registered a case while her husband is still at large.

The station house officer, Ajai Prakash Srivastava, said Singh used to physically abuse his wife. He quoted Kaur as saying that her husband would beat her up every now and then and once he even urged her to bring Rs 700,000 (£7118, $ 10400) from her parents.

"Recently, he lost her during an IPL betting game, after which the husband's fellow gamblers started making rounds of their house. They began harassing her on the phone too. Sensing trouble, she finally lodged a complaint against her husband."

"The case is really shocking. We have received the complaint from the woman and have registered an FIR against her husband. We are now looking into the allegations made by her and investigations are on to understand the exact circumstances behind the crime," Srivastava is quoted as saying. Action will be taken against the accused, he added.

The 2016 IPL season came to an end after Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs in the final on 29 May.