Madhya Pradesh govt to bring in law to regulate online gaming: Minister

Taking note of the rising incidents of children getting addicted to online games and taking extreme steps, Madhya Pradesh Minister Narottam Mishra has said that the state government will bring in an act to regulate gaming applications on mobile phones.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mishra referred to the alleged suicide by an 11-year-old boy here while playing Free Fire game.

The Free Fire game that caused the tragic incident is a very serious issue. We will bring an act in Madhya Pradesh to regulate online gaming. The draft is almost ready for it. We will soon give it a concrete shape, the state home minister said.

According to the police, Suryansh Ojha allegedly committed suicide, while playing Free Fire game with his cousin in a room on the terrace of their house in Bhopal's Shankracharya Nagar.

When his cousin stepped out, Suryansh allegedly hanged himself using a rope used for setting up a punching bag in the room.

The boy's family immediately rushed him to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, it was stated.

The post-mortem report has confirmed that the boy had died of hanging, an official said on Friday.

Prima facie, it appears that the boy took the extreme step, because he was too involved in online games, he said.

The boy was hyperactive and addicted to online gaming, additional deputy commissioner of police Ankit Jaiswal said.

Suryansh had even stolen money from his home to pay for a gaming application and his parents scolded him for that, the official said.

The cause behind the extreme step is being ascertained. However, it looks like that it just happened while playing the online game or practicing some acts shown in it, Jaiswal added.