Multiple areas in Gujarat have now banned mobile games PUBG and Momo following notifications from the state home ministry, according to multiple reports. The ban was first issued placed in Rajkot following an order by Rajkot Police Commissioner on March 8, per Times of India, and will be implemented from March 9 to April 30, per News18. The same day the ban was extended to Surat. It’s unclear if the games were banned in Rajkot and Surat, or in entire districts. A day later both games were banned in Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath districts following notifications from the state home ministry, per TOI This morning, Panchmahal district administration also banned both games, per TOI. According to the report, a similar notification was issued by the Narmada district administration. In January, the Gujarat government PUBG in all state schools, stating that children were getting addiction and their education was being adversely affected. Per the notification, anybody can report a person who is playing the game, and violators can be prosecuted under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. Officials have said that the games incite violence among players, who are mostly children, affect children’s education, and change players’ behaviour after sometime. Jagruti Pandya, the Gujarat state chairperson for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), recommended the ban to the body, citing the negative effects of the game. PUBG or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was created by Chinese company Tencent Games and launched in March 2018 on smartphones. A Quartz study from December 2018 found that PUBG…
