Pramesh Jain
The body of a 12-year-old boy, who went missing on Saturday,was found murdered on KC Road in the Ullal area of Mangaluru on Sunday.
A 12-year-old boy died following his tiff with his friend after playing an online game in KC Road in Ullal Police Station limits on Saturday night, Mangaluru Police Commissioner N.Shashi Kumar said.
The boy identified as Akif.The police have registered a case of murder and the boy’s friend, a 17-year-old boy,is being questioned.
We are looking whether there are anyone else involved in this incident,Mr. Kumar told reporters on Sunday.
According to Mr.Kumar,Akif (12) left his house around 9 pm speaking on his mobile phone.It is for about 30 minutes during this time that his parents allow him to play “PUBG” game along with his friends.
When the boy did not come home by 10 pm, family members started to search.The mobile phone that the boy was carrying was switched off.
On Sunday morning,the body of the boy was found in a ground behind Falah English Medium School,which is about a kilometre away from his house.
The boy was assaulted about 20 meters away from the spot where the body was found.The body was moved to the compound wall side of the ground and covered with leaves of banana, coconut and other plants to avoid attention of people,Mr.Kumar said.
Akif was in Class 6 of Falah School.He was the second of the five children of Mohammed Haneef,a resident of Kotekar.Haneef owns a lorry.
In the complaint filed with the Ullal police,Haneef accused the 17-year-old boy of murdering Akif.
Mr.Kumar said the boy told police during inquiry that he acquianted with Akif few days ago at a mobile store outlet.Quoting the boy,Mr.Kumar said the two were into playing “PUBG” and Akif was found winning games.
The boy called Akif on Saturday night to play the game before him.As Akif lost,there was heated exchange between the two.
Akif hit the boy with a small stone and the boy retorted by hitting Akif with a bigger stone.Akif collapsed and died,Mr. Kumar said.A case has been registered and a detailed investigation is being conducted he added.
The police chief also advised parents to keep watch on what their kids are into while using phones.This can happen to anyone.
There are a lot of games these days available online,like the Bluewhale Challenge that got many addicted some years back.It’s unfortunate how such games are now costing our kids’lives,with some even being drawn to commit crimes,he said.
