UP boy stole money & jewellery to play online games, runs away to Bengaluru

A 13-year-old boy left his home in Kaushambhi district taking along Rs 40,000 cash and jewellery worth Rs 10 lakh from his mother's locker.

He was eventually traced by the UP Police at a location on Malur Whitefield Road in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

During initial questioning, he told the police that he was unhappy over his parents trying to limit his hours to play online games and hence he left home as he wanted to play the games without constant nagging from his family members.

The boy stayed in Bengaluru for a fortnight until he was rescued by the UP Police. During his stay in the IT city, he slept regularly at the Bangalore railway station and ventured around the station for food, said the police.

The boy spent most of the cash he had on him but surprisingly, all the jewellery he carried along was recovered from him intact, police said.

Kaushambhi Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said, "On May 13, the boy's mother had informed Pipri police that her minor son had gone missing after stealing cash and jewellery from home."

Police registered a case under IPC's section 363 (kidnapping) and constituted three police teams to rescue the child.

With the help of surveillance and cyber cells, they traced him to Bengaluru.

The police team that rescued the boy also recovered the jewellery, a mobile phone and tablet from him.

After being rescued, the boy was sent for counselling.

According to police, the boy said he was fond of playing a certain online game where a lot of money was required to unlock more advanced features of the game.

He stole the cash and jewellery from the locker of his mother's almirah and boarded a train bound for Bengaluru.

The boy also told police he knew Bengaluru to be India's best IT city and assumed that he would get to know more about online games there.

When asked if he missed his parents during his stay in Bengaluru, the boy told the police that he did not miss them as he had all the time to play the online games he loved.

Srivastava said, "Police have been advising parents to keep an eye on their wards' activities, particularly those addicted to online video games and to consult medical experts if they see unusual signs.