A 15-year-old boy in Andhra Pradesh took his own life, allegedly after his parents rebuked him for spending too much time playing popular mobile game PUBG.
The child was identified as Lohit and the incident took place in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. He was rushed to the state-run King George Hospital but succumbed. His body was later sent for an autopsy.
"He was studying in Class 10 and was the couple's only son. The child got addicted to PUBG. His parents chided him for always being glued to the phone and asked him to concentrate on his studies. When they took away his cell phone, the teen was so upset that he killed himself," a police officer investigating the case told reporters.
"As harmful as alcohol has gotten to older teens, younger children have gotten addicted to this game. We are giving the phone to our young children, but we are not observing what they are doing with the device," the police officer added.
Citing the incident, child's rights NGO Balala Hakkula Sangham demanded that the Centre's IT Ministry take note of the growing concern against the addictive nature of the game.
Just last week, the police said that a 21-year-old man from Karnataka’s Belagavi allegedly murdered and dismembered his father’s body as he was stopped from playing PUBG.
Earlier this month, in an alarming incident, a teenager was admitted to the Sunshine hospital in Hyderabad after suffering from a stroke. Doctors said that the 19-year-old had been addicted to PUBG, as a result of which his health had been impacted, to the point that the teen developed a stroke.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help.
Tamil Nadu:
State health department suicide helpline number - 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in TN)
Telangana:
Telangana government suicide prevention toll free no - 104
Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001
SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)
Karnataka:
Sahai : 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222
Kerala:
Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530
Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Andhra Pradesh:
Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930
Roshni
Helpline 1: 9166202000
Helpline 2: 9127848584