Pune: Teen Allegedly Jumps From 14th Floor As Part Of Online Gaming Stunt

A 16-year-old boy jumped from the 14th floor of a building in the society of Pune. The incident happened on July 26 around 12:30 am in the Kiwale area of Pimpri Chinchwad. It is suspected that the jump was a part of a dangerous stunt of online gaming. The boy's parents admitted that their deceased son was addicted to online gaming. 

As per the reports, the parents of the boy said on July 30 that their son was addicted to online gaming which led to his death. The mother said, "My son was even scared of going to the balcony earlier. His behaviour changed in the past few months after he started playing online games. He used to get aggressive even if I took away his laptop."

She further added, "We think that there was a task in the online game in which he was supposed to jump from the building, and he did it without thinking of the consequences."

The father of the boy said, "My son was good at studies. He often received appreciation from teachers. We have found two sketches in his room, which show he was playing a game with two different teams. Since he often attended classes online, we thought he used his laptop for it more frequently and not to play games online."

Police investigation reports

A case of accidental death has been registered. The police found a sketch in the boy's room which looked like a plan. The sketch showed a room and the building with "jump" written on it. It is suspected that the balcony in the sketch where "jump" was written is the one from where he jumped. 

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Pimpri Chinchwad, Swapna Gore said, "The family members of the boy have informed us that he was addicted to online gaming. We have recovered his laptop also. We are yet to open it because his family members do not know the password." 

What happened on the day of the incident?

On the day of the fateful incident, the mother got to know about her son's death from society's WhatsApp message. People were talking about a boy who fell from a building in the society. The worried mother rushed to her son's room which was locked. She used the master key and entered the room. She was filled with tears when she found no one in the room. She went downstairs to check whether the boy was her son. And unfortunately, her fears became true. 

Psychologist and Psychiatrist weigh in on children's addiction to online content

Talking about the addiction to online gaming among kids, Sonali Kale, a psychologist at Muktangan Rehabilitation Centre, said that they receive at least 10 cases each day of children addicted to gaming, porn or gambling in OPD of children. The youngest children of such cases are 10 years old. 

Kale told TOI about the steps that parents can take to monitor their children. She said, "My advice to parents is to monitor what the child is doing with phones or laptops and have some rules and regulations regarding screen time. Open communication between parents and children is very important. There should be a dedicated parent-child quality time, where all the screens are switched off and they share their thoughts."

Parents must create a "conducive" environment so that children are able to express themselves even if they have done something wrong, Kale said. 

Moreover, Kale also listed down a few symptoms which must alarm parents to take their children to a psychologist. She said, "If children stop talking in the house, avoid daily routines, avoid food, spend more time in the washroom or alone, avoid friends, avoid playing with them, avoid spending family
time, get irritated or agitated beyond reason and are seen addicted to the internet, then reach out to psychologists if your advice does not work."

Psychiatrist Dr Sagar Mundala said that such cases are happening frequently to the current generation. Talking to TOI, Dr Mundala said, "Parents are not teaching children the importance of accepting rejection or 'no'. This needs to be taught right from the age of 3-4 instead of taking stern action in the teenage when the child is going through puberty."

Dr Mundala further added, "On top of it, because of digital media, they are used to instant gratification. So they don't have the patience to wait. Since they don't know how to respond to rejection, they make impulsive decisions without assessing the consequences." 

An investigation into the case is ongoing.