19-year-old arrested, two detained for killing friend over PUBG game

Though the game is banned in India, these youngsters played it using VPN (virtual private network), police said

Police on Tuesday arrested a 19-year-old man and detained two minors for allegedly killing their 22-year-old friend after a dispute following an online game of PUBG. The three stabbed the victim with a knife near a school at Vartak Nagar around 9 pm on Monday.

According to police, they were also seen consuming liquor in the same area by passers-by. (HT FILE)

Though the game is banned in India, these youngsters played it using VPN (virtual private network), police said, adding that the group was known to take the game seriously and fight over it in the past too. All except one of the minors have previous police records registered against them for assault and they were drug addicts.

“The deceased is identified as Sayeel Jadhav. He was killed between 9.30 pm and 10 pm on Monday. The four friends, including main accused Pranav Koli, frequently played PUBG and used to quarrel over some issue or other after the game,” senior police inspector Sadashiv Nikam, Vartak Nagar police station, said.

Nikam said they had registered a non-cognisible offence against the group last year when they had a fight over the game. “They used a VPN service to access the banned game. The three accused had a fight with Jadhav earlier too and on Monday night, they traced him through the application, and fought with him.”

According to police, they were also seen consuming liquor in the same area by passers-by. “The three attacked Jadhav with a sharp weapon like a knife or chopper. Jadhav was stabbed on his chest, back, knees, and head. He ran to his house which was merely 200-300 metres from the spot. His family called the police and took him to a hospital. However, he died on the way,” Nikam said.

Nikam said while Koli was arrested, the two minors were sent to correction homes. “Both the minors are over 17 years and we will do their medical test and see if they can be tried as adults. A case of murder was registered under the Indian Penal Code.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police Balasaheb Patil said the four were school dropouts. “Jadhav discontinued after class nine, and worked as a daily wager. The parents of all these youngsters sell vegetables to earn a living. They were all known to create a ruckus in the area.”

Bahadur Singh, a security guard in the area, said, “I have known these four boys for a few days. Once they had a fight around 2 am and I yelled at them after which they ran away.”