PUBG Ban Row: College Students Arrested in Gujarat for Playing PUBG Mobile

After we reported last week that playing PUBG Mobile can land you in jail as more Indian cities impose the ban on the game, police have arrested ten people including six college students from Gujarat for allegedly playing PUBG mobile. All these arrests were made in last two days following the ban order by Rajkot Police Commissioner Manoj Agarwal on March 6.

On March 6, Rajkot Police Commissioner Manoj Agrawal issued a notification banning the popular online battle royale game - PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds commonly known as PUBG (Mobile) and 'Momo Challenge' in the city.

Police stations were asked to complete the ban and arrest those who were still playing PUBG in spite of the police banning it, Rajkot taluka police inspector V S Vanzara said.

"On Tuesday, our teams arrested six college students playing PUBG game on their mobile phones on Kalavad Road and in Jagannath Chowk area," he said.

Gandhigram police arrested a 25-year-old private firm employee for playing the game on his phone the same day, according to a release from the police control room. On Wednesday, three more arrests were made by Rajkot police's special operations group in different areas of the city, another official release said.

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All these arrests were made under Indian Penal Code Section 188 for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant and later granted bail at concerned police stations. Section 188 of IPC covers Disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant if the action causes danger to human life, health or safety. 

According to the police commissioner's notification, the ban was necessary as these games were leading to violent behaviour among children and youth. The games were adversely affecting the studies and the overall behaviour, conduct and language of children, the notification said.

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Ahmedabad Police Commissioner A K Singh also issued a notification on Wednesday banning both the games in the city, citing similar reasons.

The ban order exempts law enforcement officers since they might need to play PUBG mobile game as part of their investigation. Additionally, the ban also exempts education and research institutions.

Earlier, an 11-year old boy filed PIL through his mother in Bombay High Court seeking a ban on the game. The high court is seeking the government’s response on the PIL.

(With PTI inputs)