A 24-year-old woman suffered severe spinal cord injuries and was hospitalized after her husband thrashed her mercilessly for defeating him in a game of online ludo.

The incident took place when the woman, a resident of Vadodara, asked her husband to play the game with her during the lockdown. Her husband agreed but soon lost his cool when she defeated him in consecutive games, the Times of India reported.

Irate, he got into an argument with his wife and then beat her up so mercilessly that a gap emerged between her vertebrae.

The woman was taken to an orthopaedic surgeon and post treatment, she decided to stay with her parents instead of going back to her husband.

A counsellor from 181 Abhayam said the man was warned that physical torture is a crime and he could be arrested if his wife complained. He later apologised to his wife who did not wish to register an official complaint and agreed to return with him. A written undertaking was also taken from the couple.

The man works in a private electronics company while the woman gave tuitions to complement his income as they had to pay off a home loan.

The popularity of online games has been on the rise since the lockdown was imposed in the country to battle coronavirus. However, not many would have imagined that a game of pleasure would have such a violent end.

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