Blue Whale game claims life of minor in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: The fatal Blue Whale game claimed its first victim in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday night when a 13-year-old boy committed suicide by hanging at his home.

The incident took place in Maudaha in Hamirpur district where Parth Singh was found hanging by a ceiling fan in his home.

Parth, a student of class 6, had his father’s smart phone in his hand and the Blue Whale game was on. The game directs the player to commit suicide in its 50th and final challenge.

Family members said that Parth had started playing the Blue Whale game for the past few days and when the family tried to dissuade him, he started using his father’s smart phone to play the game.

Family members said that whenever the father was not around or sleeping, the boy would clandestinely use the phone to play the game. 

On Sunday evening, Parth was to attend the birthday party of a friend but he did not go and locked himself in his room.

A few hours later when he did not respond to knocks, his father Vikram Singh broke open the door and found Parth hanging from the ceiling fan.

Maudaha circle officer Abhishek Yadav said that it was amply clear that the suicide had been triggered by the Blue Whale game and investigations were already under way. 

The police officer said that the smart phone on which the boy was playing the game was being sent to IT experts who will scan the call records and other details.

It may be recalled that UP DGP Sulkhan Singh has already sent directives to all district police chiefs, asking them to remain vigilant and ban the playing of game by students. 

He asked them to interact with school authorities and create awareness among the parents too.