India: Child commits suicide after losing money in an online game
A child commits suicide after losing thousands of rupees in an online game in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The incident took place in the Chhatarpur area. A 13-year-old boy committed suicide after losing Rs 40,000 in an online game.
The child used to play free fire games. On Friday, when the child's mother was in the office, she found that money had been suddenly deducted from her account. He called and scolded his son for the act, after which the boy committed suicide.
The child also left a suicide note before committing suicide in which he apologized to his mother. The letter states that he wasted Rs 40,000 in the game. In a note written in English and Hindi, he also wrote that he was committing suicide due to grief.
According to police official Sachin Sharma, the student committed suicide and we found a suicide note at the scene. Her parents were not at home at the time of the incident.
The child's mother received a message on the phone on Friday that Rs 1,500 had been deducted from her account, after which she called the child and scolded him.
When the child's sister saw the room closed, she informed the parents. They reached the house and broke down the door, but the baby died before reaching the hospital.
Earlier in January, a 12-year-old boy committed suicide in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh after his father snatched his mobile phone from his son for playing too many mobile games.
Delhi High Court seeks policy
Earlier this week, the Delhi High Court asked the federal government to formulate a national policy to protect children from online game addiction.
An application was filed in the Delhi High Court by an NGO, Dusters Management Collective, alleging that they were receiving numerous complaints from parents who were disturbed by their children's habit of playing online games. These games are causing psychological problems in children.
The petition also said that crimes such as child suicide, depression, and theft due to addiction to online games have also come to light in recent days, which forced the NGO to file the petition.
The petition was filed by Jay Raj Nair, head of the Dusts Management Collective, through his lawyers Deepa Joseph and Ruben Raju.
"Such cases are constantly coming up, so it was important that we take this matter to court," said Deepa Joseph. We also met with Federal Minister Smriti Irani on July 10, but we did not get any reply, after which we went to court.
Increased mobile usage during Corona
Deepa Joseph believes that children are using mobile phones for education during the Corona epidemic, but at the same time, they are getting into the habit of playing games on mobile phones.
According to him, this problem is more prevalent in children whose parents go to work.
According to Google, Freefire was the most downloaded game in 2019. Its popularity among children has also increased in India.
This game can be played for free anyway. But if you want to get a character, you have to pay for it. Buying a character increases your skill in the game. You can buy a lot more than just characters.
There are a number of things that not only enhance your skills in the game but also make you popular among other players because they see more potential in you to spend money. That's why children between the ages of 10 and 18 are more likely to get caught up in it and spend more money.
Deepa Joseph says the problem is not limited to one area, but the whole country.
"Similar cases have been reported from Kerala and other states, including Delhi," he said. Therefore, a policy should be formulated for all so that the childhood of children can be protected.