Jodhpur/Chandigarh: Two teenagers tried to kill themselves on Wednesday, allegedly as part of the deadly Blue Whale challenge.
In Rajasthan's Jodhpur, a 17-year-old girl, who was rescued after she tried to commit suicide by jumping into a lake, made another attempt to kill herself by consuming tablets.
The Class X student had told her parents that she was going to meet her friends and on Monday night she carved the shape of a whale on her arm and threw away her mobile phone before jumping into the lake, police said.
The girl allegedly again attempted suicide by consuming some tablets kept in her house. She was rushed to a private hospital and admitted to its ICU.
A doctor said she was out of danger but has been kept in ICU. The doctor said she is depressed and will undergo counselling.
In Pathankot, a 16-year-old boy allegedly attempted suicide by hanging himself from a fan, allegedly as part of the game. The parents of the teenager said his behavior had been unusual for the past several days.
Pathankot civil hospital psychiatrist Sonia Mishra said that during counselling, the boy, who carved the shape of a whale on his left forearm, acknowledged that he had been playing the online challenge for the past couple of months.
“While accepting the challenge of the blue whale game, the boy has jumped from the roof and even burnt his books," said the doctor.
The doctor said, “The boy was told in the challenge if he did not complete the task of committing suicide, then his parents could die." The teenager, whose father is an army man and mother a teacher, was playing this game with a group of 10-15 friends, she said.
Following the incident, the district administration of Pathankot in Punjab has issued directions to the department concerned to hold counselling sessions for children in schools so that they stay away from it.
Elsewhere, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said his government was making efforts to ban the online game but he also blamed the "western culture for the increasing trend of such games".
“The Blue Whale challenge is not a part of our tradition. A student creates a different world through this game. The things (culture) coming from the west are dangerous. Efforts are being made to ban this game," Chouhan said, referring to the incidents of alleged suicide by children. He said parents, family, society and government, all are responsible for this situation.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy also appealed to the Centre to take immediate steps to prevent its spread. He said detailed letters would be written to the prime minister, Union home and HRD ministers, urging them to bring in "effective steps to curb the spread of the menace".
He said timely intervention by the Puducherry police helped in the rescue of a 21-year-old woman bank employee here and also a 22-year-old man in Karaikal in the last few days. Several such cases of attempted suicide have been reported from across the country, sparking concerns.
(With PTI inputs)
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