AP Teen Dies By Suicide After Being Mocked For Losing PUBG: Report

A 15-year-old boy from Machilipatnam city in Andhra Pradesh has reportedly committed suicide after being teased for losing a mobile round of PUBG. According to The New Indian Express, citing law enforcement officials, the teenager was spending summer vacation with his father and his relatives, where he was teased for losing a PUBG game. The mother of the deceased, who is separated from her father, raised doubts about the death and has filed a case for suspicious death under article 174 of the CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code). The incident came to light days after another PUBG-related criminal case was recorded in Lucknow. A 16-year-old had reportedly shot and killed his mother after she refused to play the online title. The original PUBG Mobile remains banned in the country for security reasons since September 2020. Currently, new iterations of PUBG like Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and PUBG New State are available to play in the country.

Police told the national newspaper that the 15-year-old was playing PUBG with his cousins ​​on the night of June 11. After being teased by the cousins, the teen was banned from playing the action title by the father, which reportedly upset him more. The publication that cites the Inspector of the Circle Chilakalapudi V Narayana highlights, "After dinner, he slept alone in a room and committed suicide by hanging. Family members said the boy used to play games on the mobile phone most of the time and was depressed after making fun of him for losing the game. When his father knocked on the door on Sunday morning, he did not open [the door]. The family members broke open the door only to see the boy hanging from the fan".

Earlier this month, another PUBG-related death case was witnessed in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. As mentioned, a 16-year-old boy from Lucknow allegedly killed his mother after she banned him from playing the mobile action game. Police said the teen hid the body in one room for nearly two days and locked his younger sister in another room. According to reports, the minor even offered 5,000 rupees to his friend to dispose of the body. The officials noticed that his friends refused and returned home.

Mental health issues related to online action games have been raised by many experts in the past. Last year, Arunachal Pradesh MP Ninong Ering even wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking the government not to allow PUBG developer Krafton to relaunch BGMI in India. Ering had shared the letter addressed to Prime Minister Modi on Twitter.