Addicted to online game ‘PUBG’, Telangana boy ends life after parents takes away mobile phone

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A Class 10 student died by suicide on Thursday after his parents confiscated his mobile phone because of his addiction to the online game ‘PUBG’ in Telangana's Nirmal district, NDTV reported.

The boy, identified as Beti Rishendra, was said to be spending more than 10 hours every day playing the game. His parents revealed that he had even stopped going to school, claiming that classes left him with little time to play.

The boy's parents said that he was taken to a psychiatrist and a neurosurgeon for counseling, but he remained defiant and even threatened the doctor during the session.

Finally, his parents decided to take away his phone three days ago. Unable to cope without playing, Rishendra took the extreme step and ended his life by hanging himself.

As per NDTV, several cases have come to light across the country linked to gaming addiction recently. Earlier this year, three teenagers lost their lives after being run over by a train in Bihar’s West Champaran district. They were so engrossed in playing PUBG while sitting on railway tracks, with earphones plugged in, that they did not notice the train approaching.

In another such case from Hyderabad, a video surfaced showing a cab driver playing PUBG while driving passengers. The footage, recorded by a rider, showed the driver steering with one hand and using the other to play, sometimes even taking both hands off the wheel, putting lives in danger.

A similar tragedy occurred in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow where an 18-year-old boy died by suicide. A note found in his room revealed that he was struggling to balance his studies and his love for online gaming. He admitted that despite trying many times, he could not give up gaming and feared it might cause financial and emotional harm to his family. “You are all upset with my gaming,” he wrote in his final note, according to a report by India Today.