MP teen had ‘told friends’ he was playing Blue Whale game
Madhya Pradesh police, which is probing the ‘Blue Whale game’ angle in a 16-yearold boy’s act of jumping in front of a train in Damoh, said his close friends have told police the boy had spoken about the online game to them a few days ago.
Rafiq (name changed), the boy’s friend, said, “Some days ago I told him that he should also try a new game that I had downloaded on my mobile phone. But he told me that he is playing Blue Whale and it’s ‘interesting’.”
Another friend, Manish (name changed), too, said the boy had mentioned to him about playing the game “these days”.
Pradeep Soni, Damoh police’s inquiry officer in the case, told HT they have recorded the statements of the family members and other relatives of the boy.
“His friends claimed he had told them about the game but they never saw him playing it. But none of the family members said he had any connection with the Blue Whale game,” said Soni.
The officer added that they are still waiting for the report from Bhopal cyber experts, who are analysing the phone’s content.
“Once the cyber experts unlock the phone and look into its past activities, it will become clear whether the boy committed suicide while playing the game.”
The Facebook account of the boy showed he had shared a scary video ‘A mysterious Doll’ a few days ago.
The deadly challenge comprising 50 tasks, which was created by a former convict from Russia, psychologically provokes players into committing daring, self-destructive tasks before finally taking the “winning” step of killing themselves.
Authorities at the Nav Jagriti School, where the boy studied in Class 12, said they have no idea if he was playing the game. However, the school’s director, M Varnawar, said he addressed the students on Monday morning and appealed to them not to play any such game which endangers their life and creates havoc for their families and loved ones.
The school also held a prayer meet in memory of the boy and offered condolences. Classes were suspended for the day.