Blue Whale game echoes in House

New Delhi: Members of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday raised the issue of harmful effects of online video games on children. Members also demanded action against online games like ‘Blue Whale’, alleging that it was linked to suicide of a young boy in Maharashtra last week.

During the zero hours in Rajya Sabha BJP MP Amar Shankar Sable raised the issue he added that a young boy Manpreet had committed suicide in Mumbai last week after playing the Blue Whale game for 50 days.

He said, “About 130 suicides linked to the game have taken place in America, Russia, England, and Italy. Participants in the game are given instructions like ‘watch horror movies’, ‘travel without a ticket in train’, and later they are asked to commit suicide. Manpreet has become the first victim.”

BJP MP, Vikas Mahatme also drew the attention towards other such games that are highly addictive. The member also added that such games are harming the children and action should be taken by the government. Supporting the BJP MPs, the Samajwadi Party MP Sanjay Seth said that there should be provisions to remove such games from sites.

Blue Whale is an online dare game, where the players are instructed by administrators to carry out some unusual tasks. After the player completes 50 tasks, the player has to commit suicide. Players who decide to quit the game midway are threatened with dire consequences to their families.

Last week, a boy in Mumbai, Manpreet, committed suicide by jumping from a building. While the case is still under investigation but it is being attributed to the game Blue Whale.