Amid recent incidents of religious conversions through online games, the Indian government said that it is mulling a ban on games and apps being used as a front for this purpose on Monday.
"For the first time, we have prepared a framework regarding online gaming, in that we will not allow three types of games in the country. Games that involve betting or can be harmful to the user and that involves a factor of addiction will be banned in the country," Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters in New Delhi.
The minister added that the government intends to form self-regulatory organizations that would approve or disapprove games on the Internet.
"In the interim, in the next 90 days, as we wait for self-regulatory organizations (SROs), the government will make a decision on what is permissible or not permissible," he elaborated.
The proposed move comes days after the Uttar Pradesh Police busted religious conversion gangs that sought to convert teenagers in the state's Prayagraj and Ghaziabad districts through online gaming apps.
According to authorities, five persons were enticed to convert from Hinduism to Islam while two individuals accused of running the racket have been arrested.
In the majority of these cases, the modus operandi of the alleged perpetrators was to target teenagers playing the online game "Fortnite" on their mobile phones.
"When teenagers used to lose the game, they were asked to read verses from the Quran if they wanted to win. And when they won, their interest and belief (in the Quran) would increase. Subsequently, they would convert to Islam," Nipun Agarwal, deputy commissioner of police in Ghaziabad said last week after a man suspected of running the racket was arrested.
The second arrest in the case was made on Sunday when the Maharashtra Police picked up Shahnawaz Maksood Khan alias Khan from Mumbai. He was presented in court on Monday.