india

Updated: Mar 14, 2019 23:49 IST

Nineteen people, including six college students, were arrested in Gujarat’s Rajkot city in the last two days for allegedly playing PUBG on their mobile phones despite a ban on it, officials said.

On March 6, police commissioner Manoj Agrawal issued a notification banning the multiplayer online game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), in the city. The ban was necessary as the game was leading to violent behaviour among children and youth, the notification said.

Rajkot taluka police inspector V S Vanzara said,. “On Tuesday, our teams arrested six college students playing PUBG on their mobile phones on Kalavad Road and in Jagannath Chowk area.”

The same day, Gandhigram police arrested a 25-year-old private firm employee while Rajkot police’s special operations group picked up three persons, according to two official releases.

All those arrested were granted bail at the police stations concerned, police said.

Psychologist Dr Dhruv Thakkar said, “The game is harmful in a way because it is addictive. The police notification will help curb this craze which, in many cases, is the result of peer pressure.”

On January 23, Gujarat become the only state to ban the game.