After allegedly spending Rs 10 lakh through online transactions for playing PUBG, a 16-year-old boy ran away from home in Mumbai after his parents reprimanded him, police said on August 27.
The police subsequently traced the runaway teen to Mahakali Caves area in Andheri (east) on August 26 afternoon and sent him back to his parents, an official said.
The incident came to light on August 25 evening, after the boy's father approached the MIDC police station with a missing person's complaint, and since the boy was a minor, the police registered a case of kidnapping and a search was launched, the official said.
During the probe, the boy's parents informed the police that the teenager had been addicted to PUBG since July. While playing on the mobile phone, he spent Rs 10 lakh from his mother's bank account to get an ID and virtual currency to play the game, he said.
When the parents found out about the online transaction, they scolded the boy, following which he wrote a letter and left the home, the official said.
With the help of informants and technical analysis, the crime branch team managed to trace the boy, who was sent back to his parents after counselling, he added.
PUBG was banned in India in June 2020 along with 58 other Chinese applications by the Indian government amid raging concerns on aspects relating to data security and safeguarding the privacy of citizens. However, PUBG got a new lease of life as a rebranded version called Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) after its ban in June 2020.
[Inputs from PTI]
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