18-Year-Old Boy Kills Himself After Parents Refused To Gift Him A Phone On His Birthday

An 18-year-old boy reportedly killed himself after his parents refused to gift him a phone on his birthday in Jaipur, India on Wednesday, Feb. 16.

The deceased teen, identified as Aaditya Kumar, 18, celebrated his birthday on Feb. 13. Five days before his birthday, Kumar demanded a mobile phone as a gift from his parents. However, Kumar's father, Vijay Singh, reportedly refused and promised to buy him a new cell phone only after he passes his 12th-grade examinations with a decent score.

On late Wednesday night, Feb. 16, after noticing that the light in Kumar's room was still on, the father went to check on the boy and found him hanging limp from a ceiling fan, Deccan Herald reported.

"On Wednesday, on seeing light in Aaditya's room, his father Vijay Singh and mother checked inside only to see their son hanging," Investigation officer Rajkumar, who is handling the investigation into the case at the Sodala Police Station in Jaipur, said.

After discovering their unresponsive son, the parents rushed the boy to SMS hospital for treatment. However, the doctors at the facility declared him dead upon arrival. After an autopsy was conducted, the teen's body was handed over to his family members to perform the final rites, Business Standard reported.

The police revealed that Kumar was reportedly a gamer and PUBG addict. PUBG, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, is a mobile game that is quite popular among youngsters all over the world. Kumar reportedly used to attend his online classes on his grandfather's phone but then played PUBG for hours.

According to police officials, on Wednesday, Feb. 16, even though his father assured he'd buy a phone for him, Kumar reportedly went to his room to sleep after having dinner and hung himself from the fan at midnight.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a 15-year-old boy reportedly killed himself after his mother took away his mobile phone in Idukki, Kerala, India on Nov. 26, 2021, Latin Times reported.

The victim, identified as Russel Mohammed, a resident of Kokkayar in Idukki, reportedly took his own life by hanging a noose from the ceiling fan in his room, after his mother took away his mobile phone amid concerns that he was overusing the device.

Mohammed's mother found him using his cellular phone at around early 4 a.m. on Nov. 26 and proceeded to take it away saying he was spending too much time in front of screens. When Mohammed asked his mother for the mobile phone back later that morning, she reportedly refused to hand it over, sternly saying that she will return the phone only if he spends time studying till noon.

Mohammed's mother then left the home for some errands. However, when she returned around 1 p.m., she found that her son's room was locked from the inside. Following this, she forcibly opened the latched door and found Mohammed hanging limp from the ceiling of his room.