The deadly Blue Whate Challenge has once again claimed innocent lives. Two more teenagers from Bengal (Ankan Dey, a 15-year-old) and Kerala (Manoj C Man, a 16-year-old ) were recent victims. It is said that the teens were introduced to this game by some family member or classmate. Police are still gathering evidence in that regard. According to Press Trust of India, “More than six children across India in the age group of 12-19 years have taken their lives playing this game within a span of two weeks.”
Two teenagers from Solapur(a 14-year-old boy) and Indore ( a 13-year-old boy) were rescued in time before they could commit suicide. These cases were both involved in the Challenge.
Totally 130 suicides have been reported worldwide since the game started.
Chief Justice of India, Jagdish Singh Khehar remarked in court,”We heard about Blue Whale – that it can lead to anything.” A Public Interest Litigation or PIL in the Delhi High Court on asked internet companies like Google, Facebook and Whatsapp to remove any material linked to the game; The petition also seeks assigning a special team of the Delhi Police oversee that internet platforms comply with the order.
The Minister for Women and Child Welfare, Maneka Gandhi, today urged parents through Twitter “to monitor the activities of children & dissuade them from falling prey to #BlueWhaleChallenge.”
Inflicting harm to oneself is of prime importance. But the main task of The Blue Whale Challenge involves carving a ‘Blue Whale’ with a sharp object on the person’s body and photographing it as proof. In fact, each task needs to be photographed or videotaped, so the administrators have proof of completion and authenticity. The entire game is spread over a period of 50 days. But the 50th task is suicide. The suicide has to be photographed as well.
