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MANGALURU: A class IX student from a private school in Uppinangady, about 60km from Mangaluru, has reportedly given himself a weird haircut, as part of the ‘Free Fire’ mobile game task.

This incident comes close on the heels of the murder of a 12-year-old boy in Ullal, over an alleged spat over PUBG.

In this case, however, the moment the boy’s parents suspected that something was wrong, they immediately brought the incident to the notice of the police.

Kumar C K, police sub-inspector, Uppinangady police station, said on Monday night, that as soon as the boy’s parents, who are daily wage workers, noticed their son’s weird haircut, they started questioning him. The boy had tonsured the front portion of his head, and told them that he had done so as part of a task for a game. The next morning, the boy’s parents took him to the police station.

A sub-inspector said that while interacting with the boy, it came to light that a majority of the high school students from this private school, were addicted to this game. He told the police that he was into gaming with several other gamers, who were mostly his schoolmates. As he lost in a level in the game, the participants asked him to flaunt this weird haircut. The police then interacted with the other boys, and counselled them about the ill-effects of gaming. They were also told to uninstall the game, and to use smartphones only for academic purposes.

The police said that the students have been playing ever since the lockdown and classes were shifted to online mode. “Their parents gave them smartphones to attend online classes. Instead, they have been using them for online gaming. A few have not been attending classes regularly,” said Kumar.

The police have informed the school administration about the addiction to gaming among students. “We have asked the school to immediately conduct a parent-teacher meeting to stop the misuse of smartphones,” added Kumar.