CM Devendra Fadnavis to seek ban on Blue Whale

Mumbai: Three days after Class 9 student, Manpreet Singh (14), committed suicide in Andheri east as part of the online ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ game, that exhorts participants to commit suicide at the end of a 50-day round, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured the Assembly on Tuesday that he would request the Centre to ban the game from the Internet. He also called for a complete inquiry into the suicide. The issue was raised by NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who pointed to the craze of the Blue Whale game in India.

In his reply, the CM said, “In many counties, these suicide cases have been seen. The children get addicted to the game and get involved in it, they are given tasks to perform and suicide is one of them. It is a very serious issue and we will talk with the Centre to ban the game. The game server is not in India and hence w need to seek the Centre’s help,” he said.

While raising the issue, Mr Pawar said, “This game has taken several lives abroad and now it has now reached India. The 14-year-old Manpreet was the first victim of this game in the country. This is a warning for all of us. Police should check who was the master gamer, who instructed Manpreet to commit suicide. The government should take the serious measures to prevent more victims.”

The police has examined the victim’s browsing record on the Internet as gleaned from his mobile phone and desktop computer. The boy had discussed the online game with his friends on a WhatsApp group. The police will also examine his laptop that is password-protected.