Punjab Police decides to approach the federal government for banning the popular online game Players PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). The move comes after a teenage boy, influenced by the game, murdered his family.
To clarify, on January 19th 2022, police found the bullet-riddled bodies of a mother and her three children in Lahore. Police found the bodies of Dr. Naheed Mubarik (40) and her three children including two daughters Mahnoor (16), Jannat Fatima (8), and son Taimur (21) from the house.
The murderer turned out to be the surviving 14-year-old son, Zain. Initial investigative reports suggested that a group of men entered the house and murdered the family. However, Punjab’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan ordered that the probe should be conducted keeping in view all the angles of the incident.
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The investigation then revealed that Zain killed his family. His family often stopped him from playing the game. Out of frustration, he shot them at point-blank range inside their house.
“He opened fire at his mother and three siblings. He had been misleading the police the entire time,” the investigation officer said.
A senior police officer told media that on the day of the incident, the boy “lost his senses” after he missed a target after playing the game for hours. He then got hold of his mother’s pistol and went to her room where she was asleep along with her other children.
PUBG: Making players violent?
Police arrested the teenager and registered an FIR under sections of murder. As a result of the violent incident, the Punjab police will request the federal government to ban the game.
“The murder of a mother and her three children has been solved. The accused killed his mother, sisters and brother with his mother’s pistol in the house. Punjab Police decides to recommend to Provincial and Federal Government to ban dangerous game (PUBG),” Punjab Police said.
کاہنہ لاہور میں والدہ اور تین بچوں کے قتل کا معمہ حل, پب جی (PUBG) گیم کا عادی بیٹا ہی قاتل نکلا۔ ملزم نے گھر میں موجود والدہ کے پسٹل سے ماں، بہنوں اور بھائی کو قتل کیا. پنجاب پولیس کا خطرناک گیم (PUBG)پر پابندی لگانے کیلئے صوبائی و وفاقی حکومت سے سفارش کا فیصلہ۔ pic.twitter.com/akudvru59S
— Punjab Police (Updates) (@PunjabPoliceCPO) January 28, 2022
Punjab Police’s tweet calling for the ban on PUBG had Twitter divided. Some netizens maintained that it is a wise decision since such violent games have a negative impact. Important to note, this is the fourth such crime related to the online game in Lahore.
Last year in April, a young man, said to be a PUBG Mobile game addict, had killed his brother, sister, sister-in-law, and friend in Lahore after his family told him not to play the online game. According to the police, the man opened fire after a brawl with his family members over the PUBG game, in Lahore’s Nawa Kot neighbourhood.
Read more: PUBG blocked in Pakistan over ‘negative’ impact
On the other hand, some netizens claimed that instead of banning the game, the government should seriously implement laws on the possession of firearms. Pakistan had previously banned PUBG in 2020 but later lifted it.