Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday urged the Centre to take steps to ban the deadly online Blue Whale game in the country “to save precious lives”.
“In view of the threat which is already at our doorstep, I would request that immediate action may be initiated to ban this game all over India so that we can save precious lives,” the CM wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a copy of which was released to the media.
“There is an internet trend growing in popularity that encourages its participants to hurt themselves in real life – called Blue Whale.
“This is not a video game, but the participants are required to receive instructions from an anonymous administrator and their final task is to commit suicide,” Vijayan wrote in the letter.
He added that media reports revealed that the game has claimed a few lives in India and its popularity was increasing.
“The Blue Whale game is a challenge to the whole society and comprehensive action against this from all responsible agencies is
of utmost importance,” he said.
The cyber wing of the police department in Kerala is striving to make people aware about the game through social media and other effective channels, he said.
He also said the state government itself by can do very little in the matter.
The only solution to curb the menace was to ban the game and this can be done only with the help of the various Union ministries, including electronics and information technology, and home ministry, he said.
As per media reports, more than 4,000 children are said to have committed suicide worldwide because of this game.
Vijayan added that there were reports that a 14-year-old boy recently ended his life in Mumbai due to the influence of Blue Whale game.
The Blue Whale game, also called “Blue Whale Challenge”, is an internet ‘game’ that consists of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators during a 50-day period, with the final challenge reportedly asking the player to end his life.
