Rebuked by parents for online game addiction, Bihar teens attempt suicide

Police claimed that the two minor boys aged between 12 and 14 years and were addicted to online games.

Two teenagers from Bihar’s Gopalganj district attempted suicide in separate incidents after their parents scolded them for playing online games on Wednesday evening, officials said. The incident occurred at Uchkagaon and Manjhagarh police station areas of the district.

Image for representation. (File photo)

Police claimed that the two minor boys aged between 12 and 14 years and were addicted to online games.

The Gopalganj police said, in the first incident, the 12-year-old schoolboy, a resident of Arna Bazar village under Uchkagaon police station, used a towel to hang himself in a room at his home, while his mother was cooking in another room.

According to the boy’s parents, he was addicted to playing a game called Free Fire, for which he was reprimanded. His father, Balister Shah, who is a small-time farmer, confiscated the phone on Wednesday evening in an attempt to stop his son from playing the game. He was brought to Sadar Hospital in an unconscious state while the doctor referred him to Gorakhpur for further treatment.

In the second incident, a 14-year-old hung himself from the ceiling fan at his house at Nawkatola village under Manjhagarh police station but was rushed in time to a nearby primary health centre where the doctor referred him to Sadar Hospital in critical condition.

The boy’s father Lotan Choudhary said that immediately after his mother scolded him, the boy, extremely upset, went into the room. When he did not come out for a long time, the family members broke the bathroom door and found him hanging from the ceiling, though alive.

Meanwhile, the boy’s father appealed that the government should ban such games.

“My child got depressed whenever we stopped him from playing the game. I don’t want such an incident to happen again. I request the government to ban such games,” Choudhary said.

Professor Ranbijay Sinha from the psychology department of Magadh University, said, internet gaming disorder is like an addiction. “Because of this, a person doesn’t show interest in other works and gets addicted to gaming only,” he said.

He said parents need to keep an eye on children’s online behaviours early to prevent possible addiction. “Mobile use of children should be regulated by the parents. They should evaluate their internet and mobile use regularly,” he added