PUBG ban: 10 people reportedly arrested for playing PUBG game

Gujarat: Moving to act on the order banning popular battle royale game PUBG, Rajkot police has now gone ahead and arrested as many as 10 people for playing the game over the last two days. Of the 10 arrested, six are undergraduates, reports the Indian Express.

The six college students were arrested by the Rajkot Taluka police on Tuesday. Speaking to the publication, police inspector VS Vanzara said that the students were arrested as part of a “special drive”. The students, the police say, “were playing the game at tea stalls and fast-food joints outside a college on Kalavad road." Police reportedly checked their mobile phones to see if the PUBG game was running and also checked the history in their handset. We have filed six different cases against them.”

Also read: PUBG ban: 5 things you should know about the ban on PUBG Mobile in select regions

Elsewhere, the Rajkot Special Operations Group (SOG) booked three young men near its police headquarters for flouting the police order. SOG police inspector, Rohit Raval explained, “Our team caught these youths red-handed. They were taken into custody after they were found playing the PUBG game. We have registered two cases against them under IPC Section 188 for violating the notification issued by Police Commissioner and under Section 35 of the Rajkot police arrests 10 for playing PUBG despite ban Gujarat Police Act.”

Speaking to the Indian Express, Police Commissioner Manoj Agarwal said that 12 cases have been registered so far in accordance with an earlier notification that he had passed banning the game in the city.

Shedding more light on the matter, he explained that the accused have been booked but not arrested as playing the banned game is a bailable offence. He further added that under the procedure of the law, the accused have been shown as immediately bailed out by the police and that once the case goes to the court, "there will be a trial for not following the notification issued”.

The notification in question was passed on March 6 and bans not just PUBG, but also the MOMO challenge. The notification states:

“It has come to our notice from various media that PUBG game, MOMO challenge is leading to a violent attitude among youth. The game is also having an impact on studies as well as behaviour, conduct and language of children and youth… Keeping in mind public safety security and to maintain law and order, I hereby impose a ban on playing PUBG game/MOMO challenge.”

Apart from Rajkot, the district magistrates of Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath in Gujarat have also reportedly issued notifications that they are going to ban the game. Earlier, Gujarat's primary education department after a recommendation by the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had issued a circular. It stated that all District Primary Education Officers will be required to enforce a ban on PUBG Mobile in schools as it is necessary for children since they are claimed to be getting addicted to the game and that PUBG Mobile was "adversely affecting their studies".