Mumbai teen India’s first ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ victim?

Mumbai, July 31

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Police are investigating if a dangerous underground social media game dubbed the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ was been behind a teenager jumping to his death in Mumbai’s western suburb Andheri.

The teenager, a 14-year-old Class 9 student, jumped from the fifth floor of his building in Andheri’s Sher-e-Punjab at 5 pm on Saturday, police said on Saturday.

A person standing near the building when the teenager took his life alerted police.

Details that have emerged since suggest that the teenager may have been discussing ‘The Blue Whale Challenge’ — a suicidal game — with his friends. 

"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.

"Police were probing if the death is related to Blue Whale suicide challenge," Milind Khetle, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Meghwadi Division), said.

Police are currently questioning the teenager’s friends, as well as some people on social media groups, to find out more.

"We could not meet his family members as they have gone to Nashik to perform post-death rituals," Khetle said, adding that they would also investigate phones and other gadgets the teenager used. 

'Blue Whale Challenge’ is an online game that is believed to have originated in Russia, where several teenagers have killed themselves over it. The game starts by asking participants to draw a blue whale on a piece of paper, and later onto their own flesh.

The game advances innocuous challenges at first, such as waking up at unusual hours, or watching horror movies alone. However, the challenges get progressively dangerous. The administrator usually set the tasks over 50 days. The last task involves suicide.

Although Russia has the highest victims, 'The Blue Whale Challenge' has also believed to have claimed lives in the UK and the US.

The name comes from the phenomenon of beached whales, a process by which the mammals strand themselves on a beach. 

The creator of the game, Philipp Budeikin, was sentenced to three years of jail by a court in Russia for having incited at least 16 schoolgirls to kill themselves. He is reported to have told investigators when he was arrested that he was "cleansing society". — PTI/Agencies