8-year-old found dead at home, suicide suspected: Delhi Police

The boy’s family has alleged foul play, while police said they are probing if the boy lost a large amount of money while playing games online, officers said

An eight-year-old boy died allegedly by suicide at his house in Nihal Vihar, west Delhi on Thursday evening, police said on Saturday, adding that no note was recovered. The boy’s family has alleged foul play, while police said they are investigating if the boy lost a large amount of money while playing games online, officers said.

The boy, a class 5 student, lived with his parents. (Representational image)

The boy, a Class 5 student, lived with his parents. His father works in a plastic factory and his mother is a sanitation worker. The boy used to be alone at home after coming from school as his parents were at work from 7am till late evening, police said.

On Thursday evening, police said, the boy’s father learned from a neighbour that the child was found dead at home. His father rushed home and informed the police, officers said.

He allegedly told police that someone killed his son. However, police said that the post-mortem report did not show any injury marks on the child’s body.

Police said that the boy used to play games on his phone and surf YouTube for more than 10 hours a day, according to his family. Police said that the games the boy played often involve spending money on virtual weapons. Police said that they believe the boy spent a large amount of money on such games. But the boy's father said the child’s phone had no active recharge. Police said that a forensic exam is being done on the phone to find out how long and in what games the victim played.

Note: Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).