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In a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has inquired as to why PUBG Mobile is still available in India.
The NGO wrote this letter in light of media reports of a tragic and unfortunate incident earlier this month when a 16-year-old shot and killed his mother in Lucknow because she restricted him from playing PUBG.
In the letter, NCPCR has also requested that, within ten days of receiving this letter, the authorities provide the Commission with a list of games that minors play, along with their regulating bodies and mechanisms.
NCPCR writes a letter to MeitY enquiring how PUBG Mobile is still available in India
The NCPCR sent a letter to the Secretary of MeitY on 9 June 2022. This came just a day after media reports of the incident surfaced, in which it was reported that the teenage boy was playing PUBG, a previously banned game in the nation.
The letter reads the following:
"In the view of this incident, it is beyond the understanding of the Commission how a banned game in India, which has been blocked by the Government of India, is still available for use by Minor. Therefore, the Commission requests your good offices to inform reasons for the availability of such blocked applications over the internet."
It further added:
"It is requested that the Commission may be informed regarding the action taken in such incidents and be provided with a list of such games which are being used by minors along with their regulatory bodies and their regulating mechanism within ten days of receipt of this letter."
It must be noted that in September 2020, the Government of India smashed 118 applications with a ban hammer, including the name of the popular title, PUBG Mobile, and PUBG Mobile Lite under Section 69A of The Information Technology Act, 2000.
Since then, battle royale titles have been removed from the Play Store as well as the Apple App Store and are unavailable for download.
At the same time, Krafton released a localized version in the form of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) in July 2021 to specifically cater to the Indian audience. The title is booming in the country because of its vast audience and thriving esports scene.
There is a possibility that the game the said youngster could have indulged in was BGMI, as it has been renamed and relaunched, although the first police report, along with other media reports, mentioned PUBG.
