Blue Whale effect? MP teen kills self; Bengal plans syllabus revamp

BENGAL GOVERNMENT IS ALSO BUSY SENDING INSTRUCTIONS BANNING USE OF CELLPHONES BY STUDENTS DURING THE SCHOOL HOURS

An 11th standard boy from Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district committed suicide by jumping in front of a train on Saturday night, which was caught on a CCTV camera of a nearby building.

Damoh SP Vivek Agarwal told HT police are probing if the boy committed suicide as part of the Blue Whale challenge after a friend claimed that the 16-yearold was playing the deadly game.

Police have sent the boy’s cellphone to a cyber expert in Bhopal to check its contents.

Damoh Kotwali police station officer Pradeep Soni said on Sunday morning police got information that the body of a young boy was lying near the railway track at Phutera Gate.

“Prima facie it seems a suicide case. The boy hailed from Damoh’s Bada Pul area and his father works at Damoh Janpad Panchayat office,” he said.

The SP said the boy’s family told police they had cautioned him about online games a while ago but denied he was playing the Blue Whale game.

Sources said during the cremation, one of his friends told local media that some days ago when he had asked the boy to download a popular game, the boy had told him he was already busy playing Blue Whale.

Last month, a Class 7 student from Indore’s Chameli Devi Public School allegedly tried to commit suicide by jumping off the third floor of his school building after apparently taking up the Blue Whale, but was saved by his classmates and sports teacher.

Meanwhile, the Bengal government is planning to introduce a chapter on “Responsible use of Internet,” in school syllabus amid reports of children from the state falling victims to the deadly online game.

“The initiative is at the proposal stage. Education department will consult with experts on how this subject can be introduced and what would be the contents of the chapter. If everything goes according to plan, the separate chapter will be introduced from the next academic year beginning January,” a senior government official said.

Until then, the government will conduct workshops to counsel students about the dangers of playing games like Blue Whale.

The government is also sending instructions banning use of cellphones by students during the school hours.