Indian Student's Death In US Likely Linked To Blue Whale Challenge: Report

In a grim first for Indians studying in US colleges and universities, a first-year student took his own life in March while playing, it is understood, a macabre online game of dares called the "Blue Whale Challenge", which has also been called the "suicide game".

The 20-year-old, who will remain unnamed here as per his family's wishes, was a first-year student at the University of Massachusetts. He was found dead on March 8.

Gregg Miliote, a spokesperson for the Bristol County District Attorney said the case is being investigated as "apparent suicide".

His death was widely reported as a murder in which he was misidentified as enrolled at Boston University. He was said to have been robbed and his body was found in a car in a jungle.

The Boston Globe newspaper subsequently identified the student by name.

The "Blue Whale Challenge" is an online game in which participants are given dares to perform, which become increasingly more difficult over 50 levels.

The student was holding his breath for two minutes, according to official sources.

The Indian government had wanted to ban this game years ago but settled for a more detailed advisory instead.

"Blue whale game (the suicide game) is abetment to suicide," said the IT ministry in an advisory issued in 2017, a year after the emergence of the game.

Asked specifically about the student's death in this game, Miliote said, "We have no information on this. The case is being investigated as an apparent suicide. We are awaiting the medical examiner's final conclusions before the case is closed. This happened on March 22. There has been no response to requests for an update. He did not respond to a text and a voice call message on Friday."

According to reports, the game is played on social media platforms. It involves an administrator and a participant. The administrator assigns one task a day for a 50-day period. The tasks are innocuous enough in the beginning, but they are progressively harder with self-harm coming in the final stages.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)