KANPUR, May 29 (TOI) : Just like the Mahabharata in which Yudhishthir lost his wife, Draupadi , who was put at stake in a gambling game, a man from Govindnagar area put his wife at stake in an IPL betting game and lost her. The matter came to light after her husband's fellow gamblers began harassing her, prompting her to approach the local police with the help of social activists.

The police have registered a case. The accused is still at large.

Police said after having lost his all money at the share markets, the man put up his wife as a stake in IPL betting and lost her too.

"The wife said the husband would beat her up every now and then and once he even urged her to bring Rs 7 lakh from her parents," said SHO Govindnagar Ajai Prakash Srivastava.

"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 on Friday," police said.

"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," SHO of Govindnagar Ajai Prakash Srivastava told TOI. Action will be taken against the accused, he added.

The two were married about five years ago. But things turned difficult from day one, said the woman, who is a boutique owner. "On the very first day of marriage, her husband, who was into share trading, asked her to hand over to him her jewellery and other valuables. Later, she got to know about his vices of drinking and gambling. Over the years, he either sold or lost in gambling all the valuables of their household. He was also planning to sell the house when this IPL gambling fiasco happened," said another police officer who is part of investigating team.