A 14-year-old boy fatally jumped off a building in Mumbai and the police are probing links to the infamous 'Blue Whale' suicide challenge. It is alleged that the boy’s friends were discussing the online game.
Commenting on the probe, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday,
The Blue Whale game is dangerous and has caused worries for everyone. The issue will be conveyed to the centre.
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, the police said.
A person, who was standing near the building at the time of the incident, alerted the police. The police are yet to find the reason behind the extreme step and are trying to ascertain if it was anyway related to the online game.
"The teenager's friends were chatting on social media groups about his death being linked to the Blue Whale online suicide challenge game. But we are yet to examine his mobile phone and social media groups where he was active," a senior police official said.
'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 police said. The participants are then asked to carve the whale onto their body.
The participants are given other simple tasks, like watching horror movies alone, and are gradually instructed to harm themselves and post photographic proof on the online community. The final step is suicide.
Police are making enquiries with his friends and some members of social media groups in this connection, Milind Khetle, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Meghwadi Division), said.
"We could not meet his family members as they have gone to Nashik to perform post-death rituals," he said.
The police will also examine the teenager's mobile phone and other gadgets as part of the probe to know the exact reason behind the suicide, Khetle said.
The Meghwadi police have registered a case in the matter and probing the reason behind the suicide, Deputy Commissioner of Police Navinchandra Reddy said.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)