Blue Whale Challenge: Assam college student attempts suicide, admitted to hospital

A second-year college student in Assam attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a building after allegedly taking part in the Blue Whale Challenge, media reports said.The student jumped off the top floor of a building in Silchar, reported  Zee News.His condition is said to be critical. "The matter is under investigation and his mobile handset has been seized," Rakesh Rausan, a police official, was quoted as saying in NDTV.Blue Whale Challenge is a online game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete for a period of 50 days and the final task leads the player to commit suicide. The player is also asked to share photos after finishing each challenge. [caption id="attachment_4046637" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. Reuters[/caption]Recently, in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, at least 30 children were found playing the deadly game. The students had used blades and other sharp objects to carve whale-like shapes into their arms, Hindustan Times reported.The incident in Assam is the latest in a string of cases reported across India of suicide attempts linked to the Russia-born deadly game.In Lucknow, Aditya Vardhan, a 14-year-old boy allegedly hanged himself in his room. According to his friends, he was playing the game on his mobile for the past two weeks and was tense.On 4 September, a 17-year-old Class XII student committed suicide by standing before a running train in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh after playing the deadly game.In Madurai 19-year old Vignesh, a private college student, allegedly committed suicide on 30 August in Madurai after playing the game, after which the Madras High Court directed the central government and the Tamil Nadu government to explore possibilities of banning it.A petition was also filed in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the Blue Whale Challenge. Over 200 people, mostly young children, under the age group of 13, 14 and 15 years have committed suicide by taking the Blue Whale challenge, the petitioner said. The apex court has sought the centre's response on the plea.The Delhi High Court had on 22 August sought the response of Facebook, Google and Yahoo on a plea to direct them to take down the links of Blue Whale challenge.With inputs from PTI