Runaway boy’s shopping spree ends

Parents feared teen had been kidnapped while going to grocery store

LAHORE:

A 13-year-old boy who went missing when purchasing groceries was found on Thursday. The boy, an avid player of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), was found in possession of a costume similar to one of the characters in the video game.

Earlier this week, Reham Mehmood reported to police that his son Majid Rehman had gone missing. He had left home with Rs65,000 rupees in cash to purchase groceries for the whole month from a supermarket in town. However, he did not return home. When a considerable amount of time passed, Reham searched for him but could not find any trace. He expressed fears that Majid might have been abducted.

Police registered a case of kidnapping against the unidentified suspects and started searching for the boy. The boy was found by a National Highways and Motorways Police (NH&MP) team in a vehicle during an inspection. NHMP had been alerted on 130 helpline about the incident. DSP Shaukat Changezi said that when they checked his bag, they found a costume of a PUBG character among other items.

When interviewing Majid, he revealed that after leaving home he started hanging out with friends and had spent the grocery money on shopping, purchasing items related to his interests. He also expressed his deep interest in PUBG

DSP Changezi said that such incidents happen when parents do not pay attention to their children and neglected their responsibilities.

PUBG, a mobile third-person shooting game, has garnered a controversial reputation over the past several years. Many view the game as an addiction, while others view it as harmful to pubic safety. Multiple heinous crimes and incidents of self-harm have been blamed on the game over the past several years, especially in the provincial capital.

In one incident a year ago, a teenage boy allegedly murdered four members of his family in Kahna. The suspect was reportedly obsessed with the game, with police concluding that the game’s violence inspired the brutal murders.

Another incident was reported in Nawan Kot where a suspect allegedly murdered four members of his family. He even chased one of them out into the street, reportedly clad in a costume of one of the game’s characters.

The Lahore Police have even written to the higher authorities to ban the game outright.

However, some instances of teenage runaways end in tragedy. In june of this year, the body of a teenager who had gone missing was found floating in a canal in Khurrianwala.

Police took possession of the body and shifted it to the hospital for a postmortem examination.

According to details, 19-year-old Waseem, a resident of Jaranwala Road, had gone missing while he was on his way to work. His family had reported his disappearance to the police.

Some passersby who had been going about their business were horrified to see a body floating in the canal. They immediately informed the police about it.

The rescue and police teams reached the spot and fished out the body. The victim’s face had been disfigured by a gunshot wound by unidentified assailants.

In 2019, The Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) has teamed up with a mobile phone application developer team to create the “Mohafiz” app, which allows search and information-sharing of cases of underprivileged, homeless children who run away from their homes in Punjab.

Through this app, assistance can be sought from government institutions in case of an emergency and citizens can also report any missing children and accidents.

Hundreds of children are present in various centres of the province including the CPWB in Lahore.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2023.