14-year-old ends life in Bhopal, family blames mobile game addiction

Bhopal, Feb 4 (PTI) A 14-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide in the city with his family members suspecting that his addiction to a mobile game was responsible for his death.

Ansh Sahu, a Class 9 student, was found hanging at his house in Shriram Colony under Piplani police station area on Monday afternoon.

The only child of his parents, he studied at a reputed school in the city. His parents teach at a private school, Deputy Commissioner of Police Vivek Singh told PTI Videos.

He was allegedly addicted to the mobile game 'Free Fire', Singh said, adding that on the day of the incident, Ansh's mother had reprimanded him for mobile gaming. Earlier, Rs 28,000 had been deducted from his grandfather's bank account due to the same game, the DCP said.

Police were examining the boy's mobile phone, and the reason behind the suicide would become clear only after the investigation is over, he said.

The police would issue an advisory regarding the game, Singh added.

Piplani police station house officer (SHO) Chandrika Yadav told PTI that one-and-a-half months ago, the parents had even taken away the phone from him.

Om Sahu, the boy's maternal uncle, told PTI Videos that Ansh had become addicted to mobile games in recent months, and it had started affecting his studies too.

The family had counselled him several times, but even after Rs 28,000 were deducted from his grandfather's account, his addiction continued, Sahu said.

"The game often had difficult tasks, and being unable to complete them pushed him to take this step," claimed Sahu, demanding action against the game makers.

Ansh's parents had gone out to attend a funeral feast on Monday and found him hanging on their return. He was rushed to a private hospital where doctors declared him dead, Sahu said.

Girish Sharma, a neighbour, said Ansh was quiet by nature but had become isolated in recent days. "Such games are taking children's lives and they should be banned immediately," he said.

Madhya Pradesh sports and youth welfare minister and local MLA Vishwas Sarang said the government had taken note of deaths linked to online gaming, and would ensure such incidents did not recur. PTI LAL KRK