13-year-old Lucknow boy ends life after losing Rs 13 lakh from father's account

In a tragic incident, a 13-year-old boy lost his life due to his addiction to online games in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow. Yash, a Class 6 student, allegedly linked his father’s account number to the game Free Fire, only to lose Rs 13 lakh.

The victim's father, Suresh Kumar, who took contracts for painting jobs, recently sold some land and had deposited the money into his bank account. When Suresh went to withdraw the money, he was shocked to find the account empty. After filing a complaint with the bank manager, he came back home and explained the situation to his family.

When he learned about his son’s act and confronted him, the young boy went to his room and ended his life. The family rushed him to the hospital, but he could not be saved.

SHO of Mohanlalganj police station, D K Singh, said the boy, a student of class six, took the extreme step out of fright. 

No game data found on phone

However, no game data was found on the deceased’s mobile phone. The device was either reset or the data was deliberately deleted. Police are investigating whether Yash wiped the data before his death or if someone else reset the phone afterward.

Yash’s mother said she had no idea her son played games on the phone and thought he only watched cartoons. However, Yash’s friends confirmed that he played the game and talked about it. They also mentioned that for the past month, Yash had been going out less frequently. 

Govt bans money-based online games

The Parliament recently passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, banning online money games in India. As per the government, the decision was taken to curb addiction, financial ruin and social distress caused by predatory gaming platforms that thrive on misleading promises of quick wealth.