Viral Sach: 'Blue Whale Challenge' enslaves teenagers, tricks them into committing suicide?

NEW DELHI: The Blue Whale Challenge, an online game that incites children to commit suicide, has sparked fear waves among parents. After the suicide of a Mumbai teen was linked to the 'game of death', even the Maharashtra government has come into action. The issue was also raised in the state Assembly by senior NCP legislator and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who said the suicide incident was an "alarm bell for us". Upon which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he will coordinate with the Centre to take action against the game. In the Blue Whale Suicide Challenge the player has to complete a set of 50 grossly inhuman tasks assigned by the administrators, where the last task is that of committing suicide. The game runs in a secretive manner and is played between challengers (the one who agrees to play the game) and administrators (who assign tasks to the challengers). The Class 9 student jumped off the fifth floor of the building in Sher-e-Punjab area of suburban Andheri at around 5 pm on Saturday. 14-year-old Manpreet Sahas has allegedly ended his life by jumping off a building in Andheri's symphony apartment. Police is probing if the incident is linked to 'Blue Whale' suicide challenge as his friends were discussing the online game. Before jumping off the terrace, Manpreet clicked a picture and sent a message, "Soon the only thing you will be left with is a picture of me". "The administrator of this game maintains a secret profile. He is the one who selects the challenegers. If you want to download this game, you cannot do that. Teenagers get the invitations to install and play the Blue Whale Challenge on their Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram accounts," experts said. The participants were then assigned 50 tasks which they were asked to complete in as many days. 'Blue Whale', the online game which originated in Russia, starts by asking participants via social media to draw a blue whale on a piece of paper. The participants are then asked to carve the whale onto their body. The participants and given other tasks, like watching horror movies alone. The tasks also include harming oneself, waking up at unusual hours and watching horror movies. The administrator also send particular genre of music to the challengers to hypnotize them and lead them to commit suicide.