Thiruvananthapuram: Manoj C Manu, a 16-year-old boy, had committed suicide on July 26 in the city, but her mother now suspects that the "deadly" online Blue Whale Challenge game, could be the cause.
The game, in its final task, requires the player to commit suicide. The police, however, said that the boy was found hanging, and the mother had initially called his "love failure" to be the reason.
They added they have not been able to unearth any connection between the boy's death and the blue whale game so far based on their investigation.
"There were no marks on his body. In this game, people have marks on their hands and they jump off a high-rise building. He was found hanging," police said.
The police will examine boy's phone which is in police's possession.
The mother, after reading about the game, reckoned the Blue Whale challenge could also be a reason as her son had started watching movies late night. She has raised her doubts with the police.
Meanwhile, Concerned over the rise in suicides by children, the Central government has banned "deadly" online Blue Whale Challenge game, in which the final task requires the player to commit suicide.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued the order to ban this game, which reportedly consists of a series of tasks assigned to the player by administrators during a 50-day period. The ultimate task seeks the player to take the extreme step to complete the challenge.
The Ministry, led by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, has issued instructions to internet platforms, including Google India, Facebook, WhatsApp, Yahoo India, Instagram and Microsoft India, to identify and immediately remove links to Blue Whale Challenge and all other similar games.
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