Class 10 boy runs away from home after threats over online game in TN

KARUR: With each passing day, more crimes having links with online games are coming to light. In the latest incident, a 15-year-old boy ran away from home after he was threatened for money by some class-9 boys for losing points from the group’s joint account in ‘Free Fire’, an online game.

The boy had recorded a video in his phone asking his parents not to search for him and ran away on Saturday. Police traced him to Tiruchy on Monday and brought him back home. With classes going online last year, parents had to provide their wards with smartphones, and with lockdown in effect, a lot these kids got addicted to the screens, say experts.

The State Assembly recently passed an Ordinance to effectively check online gambling, but even games that do not involve betting seem to have ruinous effect on the minds of children. Fifteen-year-old Krishnan* of Thanthonimalai in Karur was given a smart phone only last year by his parents, for attending online classes. The class-10 boy spent hours together on the gadget, and his parents believed that he was studying for exams. Before long, Krishnan got addicted to Free Fire.

‘Kids will tell parents their issues only if they have good bonding’

Krishnan made some friends through the game, and recently he lost some points from their game account. Irked over this, the boys threatened Krishnan and demanded compensation. When the threats got worse, he decided to run away from home. All this while, we actually thought he was studying for his exams on the phone, the victim’s father told Express.

“Before running away, my son had recorded a video asking us to not search for him. After searching for him everywhere, we lodged a police complaint on Sunday. He was found near Tiruchy the next day. We need to have a talk with him. I request the government to ban these games that are spoiling lives of children,” he added. When contacted, an official from Thanthonimalai Police Station said that Krishnan had hopped on to a Tiruchy bus and was roaming the streets there.

“Once the little money he had got over, he requested food from random people. One person gave him some food and took him to the Trichy Fort police station. We went to the station on Monday and brought him back home. Krishnan was actually threatened by three Class 9 boys f r om Ga n dhi - gramam in Karur. We summoned these boys to the station and let them go with a warning,” he added.

Though denying kids smartphones is not an option today, the parents have to take full responsibility for their actions, Navaneethan, an activist from Karur said. “When the online class gets over, parents must take away the phones. It is the parents who actually need counselling. Children will take their problems to their parents without fear only if they have good bonding between them,” he opined.

*Victim’s name changed