- By Priyanka Koul
- Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:37 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a chilling case, a 20-year-old youth from Lucknow brutally killed his own mother after she caught him stealing her jewellery. Police say the accused, Nikhil Yadav, was deeply hooked on online gambling, especially a game called “Aviator,” which pushed him into debt and ultimately turned him into a killer.
The young man, a regular player of the game Aviator on the platform tirangagamee.games, reportedly attacked his mother with a screwdriver before fatally smashing her head with a gas cylinder.
According to the Lucknow Police, Nikhil Yadav also known as Golu had fallen deep into the clutches of online gambling through the game Aviator, where he lost significant amounts of money. In a desperate attempt to recover his losses, he began borrowing from multiple high-interest loan apps riddled with hidden charges. As the pressure to repay grew, Nikhil allegedly started stealing jewellery from his own home.
Officers said this was not the first time Nikhil had stolen from the family. He had earlier taken his mother's jewellery to settle previous debts. But on October 3, upon returning from his maternal uncle’s home, he made another attempt to steal. This time, his mother confronted him. What followed was a horrifying escalation police say Nikhil attacked her with a screwdriver in a fit of rage and desperation. He then used a gas cylinder to crush her skull, resulting in her death.
To cover up the crime, Nikhil reportedly staged the scene to make it appear like a robbery had taken place. He packed the stolen jewellery and murder weapon into his bag, fled the house on his father’s motorcycle, and switched off his phone. Before disappearing, he even called his father, Ramesh Yadav, claiming that unknown assailants had attacked them and killed his mother, but that he had managed to escape.
Ramesh Yadav returned home to a ransacked house and found his wife grievously injured. She was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Initially, Ramesh told police that burglars were behind the attack and theft, estimating a loss of Rs 5 to 6 lakh in jewellery and valuables. However, the narrative began to unravel once CCTV footage was reviewed. Suspicion soon shifted toward Nikhil.
A postmortem examination confirmed multiple injuries on the victim’s body, aligning with the brutal account given by police. Investigators launched a search and eventually tracked Nikhil down in the Fatehpur district. Upon arrest, police recovered the stolen items, including the jewellery, his mobile phone, and the screwdriver used in the attack.
Station House Officer, PGI police station, Dheerendra Kumar Singh said, “Nikhil, who is an undergraduate, has confessed to the crime.” Singh added that he was produced before the court, which sent him to judicial custody.