Nearly 100 deaths have been reported across the world linked 'Blue Whale Challenge'. (Representational)
Highlights
- 14-year-old Maharashtra boy, who left home to finish task, saved by cops
- 13-year-old Indore boy tried to jump off school building, playing game
- Nearly 100 deaths due to Blue Whale Game across the world so far
In a span of 24 hours, two schoolboys allegedly obsessed by the
"Blue Whale" online suicide game have been saved in the nick of time. Last week, a 14-year-old boy's suicide from a high-rise building in Mumbai was linked to the deadly game.
A businessman's 14-year-old son left his home in Maharashtra's Solapur yesterday allegedly to complete a "Blue Whale" task. He was found by the police on a bus to Pune.
"He was on his way to complete a task in the challenge," said a police officer, noting that the boy appeared "lost" and was silent when he was found.
The police believe the Class 9 student was addicted to the game in which a player is given 50 tasks by "handlers" and is finally manipulated into taking on the final dare - suicide.
"After the boy went missing, his parents started asking his friends and they came to know that he was playing the 'Blue Whale Challenge," said a police officer.
His family allegedly never realized that he had been playing the game on his father's mobile phone.
"As soon as we were informed by our counterparts in Solapur, we intercepted the bus and rescued the boy, who was on his way to complete a task given by the Blue Whale Challenge game," a police officer said.
Hours before this incident,
a 13-year-old boy had tried to jump off a window of the third floor of his school building in Madhya Pradesh's Indore. He struggled against two classmates who tried to hold him back. His physical training instructor then rushed to save him.
The Blue Whale Game originated in Russia. Gamers are asked to complete and upload videos of a series of dares over 50 days, which includes carving a blue whale into one's arm. There have been some 100 deaths across the world linked to the deadly game.
Last week, in what could be India's first 'Blue Whale' case, a schoolboy in Mumbai posted what he called his "last picture" on Instagram before jumping off a building in the Andheri suburb.
The teen's friends reportedly told the police he had discussed the game on WhatsApp.
Responding to concerns raised in the assembly, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he would ask the centre for help. His Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan said the same after a Kerala CPM lawmaker, Raju Abraham, said there have been 2,000 downloads of the game in the state.