Bhopal: Task force formed to prohibit online gambling and check online games

Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh): The state government on Friday constituted a task force to prohibit online gambling and put a check on online games. This task force will examine legal, technical and other aspects before making the recommendations to the government.

The task force was formed as per the recommendations made by the senior secretary committee headed by Chief Secretary. The committee meeting was held on November 28.  

The government order says that the task force will comprise additional chief secretary, home as chairman. It will also have members including Principal Secretary, Law and Legislative Affairs Department, Director, Public Prosecution, Additional Director General of Police, CID, Additional Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh Bhawan, Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Electronics Development Corporation and Secretary, Home Department.

Notably, it was after the death of a minor boy while playing an online game that home minister Dr Narottam Mishra had announced to come up with a draft to prohibit online games in Madhya Pradesh. Now the government is contemplating to give a legal shape to the draft.

Well known psychiatrist, Dr Ruma Bhattacharya told Free Press that every day the cases of children addicted to online game are being reported. Every week cases of adults becoming addicted to online gambling are also coming up, said the psychiatrist. It was during the Covid-induced lockdown that the children mostly got addicted to online gaming, she added.

Sharing a case without disclosing the identity of the child,  she said that a class 9 student had become addicted to online games and he would even carry the electronic gadget to school.

When the teacher caught him using mobile, his parents were summoned to school. After returning from school, when his parents took away his electronic gadget, the boy became furious and he wielding a knife before his parents even threatened to kill them. The parents were so scared that they left their home and stayed at a hotel for a while.