In a shocking incident, a 16-year-old teenager from Maharashtra allegedly committed suicide. Police officers from Bibwewadi police station claimed that the teenager was addicted to playing PUBG Mobile. He was scolded by his grandmother and was disallowed to play mobile games. Police officers also found a video on his phone which recorded the entire incident of himself hanging on ceiling fan inside the kitchen.
According to police, the victim had dropped out of school before completing SSC. His father had died six years ago while his mother left him 14 years ago. He had bought a new cellphone to play mobile games and watch videos on TikTok and YouTube. When his grandmother shouted him from playing PUBG Mobile, the teenager was upset and had quit eating his food. On a fateful night, he served food to his grandmother and later at around 4 am he hanged himself to death.
A senior police officer said, "We were checking if the teenager has left any suicide note but we did not find one. When we checked his cellphone we found it left unlocked and the video showed him lamenting his grandmother for comparing him with other kids. His addiction to mobile games led him to fail in exams."
Rajesh Ushgaonkar, Assistant Police Inspector of Bibwewadi police station, said, "We have registered a case of accidental death in this regard and we are investigating the case further. His body was sent at Sassoon General Hospitals for conducting post mortem."
Anuja Kulkarni from Jidnyasa Assessment and Counselling believes that shouting children or punishing them from mobile games is not the solution. It is also the onus of parents to calmly deal with their children. The majority of such cases take place when parents spend very less time with their kids. This keeps them hooked to PUBG Mobile or TikTok videos. Parents should find a solution to detach their kids from such addictions.