Blue Whale Challenge: Teenager commits suicide in Panchkula; parents find suspicious diagrams in diary

Chandigarh: In another case suspected to be linked to the notorious online game Blue Whale Challenge, a 17-year-old boy allegedly hanged himself in Panchkula, police said on Monday.

The body of the teenager, who studied at a Chandigarh school, was found hanging from the ceiling at his home on Saturday, Panchkula deputy commissioner of police Manbir Singh said over the phone."While necessary investigations were being conducted into the matter, the parents of the boy today informed us that they found some diagrams and notes scribbled in the boy's diary, which raised suspicion that he could have been playing the Blue Whale Challenge," Singh said."At this point, we suspect that the boy could have been a victim of the killer online game. However, no whale image was found on the boy's forearm," the deputy commissioner of police said.The Blue Whale Challenge originated in Russia. It starts by asking participants via social media to draw a blue whale on a piece of paper. The participants are then asked to carve the shape of a whale onto their body.They are given other "challenges" or "tasks" such as watching horror movies alone. These challenges or dares feature the commission of acts harming oneself. The last stage is suicide.When asked if the boy was alone at home when he took the extreme step, the DGP added, "We are verifying several facts and these are part of the investigations."