Even as alarm continues to spread across India over the frightening ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, another suspected case of death in Kerala has surfaced.
The family of a 22-year-old man, who had committed suicide by hanging himself inside his home last month, today said they suspected that it was a case of 'Blue Whale Challenge' addiction.
The mother of Sawant, an Industrial Training Institute student, said he had slashed his arms with a blade and the family had then thought that it was due to depression.
He was taken for counselling many times, but his behaviour continued to be abnormal, his mother told television channels.
Sawant was addicted to some computer games for the past few months and was often seen playing these games on his mobile and laptop, retiring to bed in the morning after playing the whole night, she said.
Once, he left home saying he was going to college and was found by a relative sitting on the edge of the Thalassery beach bridge.
The Thalassery police told relatives that he must have taken the extreme step because of a failed relationship.
He would watch horror films on his laptop and had slashed his wrists with a blade. He had also carved out 'SA' on his chest using a compass.
IGP Manoj Abraham said the police were unaware if anyone had downloaded the game in Kerala. However, enquiries were on, he said.
16-Year-Old Falls Victim to Blue Whale Challenge, Claims Family
16-year-old Manoj, a student of Class 11 from Perumkulam in Thiruvananthapuram, was found hanging in his bedroom on 26 July. Vilippilshala police had registered a case of unnatural death, and are investigating the case.
However, on Tuesday, Manoj’s mother Anu told the police that she suspects that her son’s death was related to the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’.
The ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ is a morbid social media ‘game’ which targets vulnerable teens and pushes them to cause self-harm and ultimately, commit suicide. The challenge involves 50 tasks, which are given by an administrator or curator, after the teen has finished the previous one.
The tasks range from telling the participating teen to cause self-harm, send photos of the same to the curator, climb a crane or ledge, not speak to anyone all day, to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to watch scary videos and listen to music the curator sends, speak to other ‘whales’ (participants) and finally, commit suicide by jumping off a high building.
While the ‘challenge’ has driven many teens to commit suicide abroad, the phenomenon is new to India.
Anu told Manorama News that her son had told her that he had discovered a new game called the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’. According to Anu, Manoj told her that there were three possibilities for how the game could end – either the player ends his life, kills someone else or loses his mind.
Anu said that she had tried to draw a promise from Manoj that he would not play the game. Manoj reportedly promised never to play the game, but may have continued playing without her knowledge.
A Drastic Change in Manoj’s Behaviour
According to Vilippilshala Sub Inspector Kannan, Anu’s suspicions about the cause of her son’s death were aroused after she came across numerous reports about the game.
Anu told Manorama that Manoj’s behaviour had changed drastically in the last nine months. A boy who had never gone to the beach before, travelled all the way there alone. He also frequented a cemetery at night. Anu recalled:
His behaviour was strange after November. He never travelled alone, but he visited the beach after November. After that, in January he carved three letters on his hands – ABI – using a compass. When I saw his hands, they were bleeding.
She added:
His friend carved letters for him. The friend was frightened, but Manoj forced him to do it.
SI Kannan said that while Manoj was an introvert, he had further retreated from his family in the last few months. The SI said:
He was a loner, addicted to mobile games. He had become more withdrawn in the months before his death.
Anu said that Manoj had also given hints about his possible death, earlier.
“He Asked Me Whether I’d Be Sad If He Died”
She said:
He asked me whether I would be sad if he died. He consoled me by saying that I should give all my love to his sister, if he dies. When I started crying, he said he was kidding. I told him lovingly that I will not be able to tolerate his death.
The Thirvananthapuram Rural SP Ashok Kumar told The News Minute that the police had not looked into the ‘Blue Whale’ angle until this point, and there had been no leads on why Manoj had died. However, now that his mother had raised suspicions regarding the challenge, the police would follow up on this.
The police have taken custody of Manoj’s mobile phone and computer. The Cyber Cell may also be brought into the investigation.
(With inputs from PTI and The News Minute )
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