AGRA: A 14-year-old Class 8 student who left his Firozabad home allegedly to complete a PUBG gaming task that he believed could earn him Rs 1 lakh was found asleep on a roadways bus in Mathura district three days later, police said. His disappearance had left his family fearing that he had been kidnapped before police traced him using CCTV footage and mobile surveillance.The boy left home on Oct 2 carrying his school bag and intended to travel to Gwalior for the purported gaming task, but lost his way and reached Indore, hundreds of kilometres from home.He later travelled towards Mathura and was eventually found asleep in a roadways bus on the Mathura-Firozabad road in Mathura district, police said.After the boy failed to return home, his family approached South police station and reported him missing. Police teams examined CCTV footage and tracked his mobile phone location, which led them to Indore.Officers coordinated with local police there and continued monitoring his movements until he was traced to the bus.South police station SHO Yogendra Pal Singh said police recovered the boy safely and reunited him with his family. SP City Ravishankar Prasad said, “The missing student was traced with the help of surveillance and CCTV footage.”Police said the boy had become increasingly dependent on mobile gaming after his father’s death and was spending considerable time playing online games.After his recovery, local residents felicitated the police team, while officers urged parents to monitor children’s mobile-phone use and online activity.Similar incidents involving children attempting to recreate online games or challenges have been reported earlier. In Meerut in Aug 2026, two children, aged 11 and 7, left home after watching a YouTube “24-hour challenge” and hid near a farmhouse before police found them safely. The incident was not linked to PUBG.In 2020, a 17-year-old Class 11 student reportedly left his Solan home to complete a PUBG task and travelled to Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Police traced him through mobile-location information and with the help of another PUBG player before he was brought home.
