Origin
The game reportedly started in Russia in 2013 with F57, one of the names of the so-called "death group" of VKontakte — Russia’s largest social network — and allegedly caused its fi rst suicide in 2015. Philipp Budeikin, a former psychology student who was expelled from the university, claimed that he invented the game. According to Budeikin, his purpose was to "clean" the society by pushing to suicide those he deemed as having no value. He was arrested with c ..
The game reportedly started in Russia in 2013 with F57, one of the names of the so-called "death group" of VKontakte — Russia’s largest social network — and allegedly caused its fi rst suicide in 2015. Philipp Budeikin, a former psychology student who was expelled from the university, claimed that he invented the game. According to Budeikin, his purpose was to "clean" the society by pushing to suicide those he deemed as having no value. He was arrested with charges of inciting at least 16 ..
Cases in India
The first case of alleged Blue Whale suicide in India was reported on July 30, when a 14-year-old boy jumped to death from the seventh floor of a building in Mumbai. On August 10, a Class VII student in Indore was pulled away before he could take the final leap. He apparently recorded all 50 stages in his school diary. A Class X student in West Bengal, allegedly playing the game, committed suicide on August 12. His body was found in the bathroom, his face c ..
What does “Blue Whale” mean?
The term "blue whale" comes from the phenomenon of beached whales, which is linked to suicide. Beaching is a phenomenon in which cetaceans strand themselves on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales die due to dehydration, collapsing under their own weight or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole.
Other Reported Cases:
US
The body of a 15-year-old was found in San Antonio, Texas, on July 8. A cellphone had broadcast the teen's suicide. A 16-year-old girl from Atlanta killed herself because of the challenge. 32-year-old Natasha fell victim to the Blue Whale Challenge after mutilating herself.
Legal Raps
India's Ministry of Electronics and IT has directed internet platforms like Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Yahoo to remove the links to the online game. This follows a petition from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, demanding a ban on the game.
The Russian Duma (parliament) passed a bill on May 26, introducing criminal responsibility for creating pro-suicide groups on social media. President Vladimir Putin has signed a l ..
BRAZIL
In Maceió, a pastor of the Christian Social Party reported that his niece committed suicide under the influence of the game. A 15-year-old student was pulled back when she was on the parapet of the Buarque de Macedo Bridge, preparing to jump from it. With several cuts on her arms, including one in the shape of a whale, she was allegedly attempting to complete the last phase of the challenge. A 17-year-old boy from São Paulo wrote on Facebook "a culpa é da baleia" ( ..
Other Insane Games:
The Ghost Pepper Challenge
These peppers, also called bhut jolokia, are the hottest in the world. Teens stick the pepper in their mouths and record their reactions. This leads to excruciating pain in the mouth, but some people also get worse reactions. It can cause nausea, gagging and a trip to the hospital.
The Cinnamon Challenge
This challenge requires teens to swallow a spoonful or m ..
The Cinnamon Challenge
This challenge requires teens to swallow a spoonful or more of cinnamon without drinking any water. The challenge can cause respiratory and throat issues or lead to collapsed lungs and choking. There have been reported deaths from this challenge.
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The Kolkata student says he was lucky. His friends spotted the whale etching and alerted teachers who in turn alerted the registrar Mr Tapas Satapathi. "I had seen some awareness campaigns on social media done by the Criminal Investigation Department or CID of the West Bengal police. So I immediately knew the gravity of the situation. I called the police for help. And the parents."
That was on Wednesday last week. On Friday, the parents came to college and the student was counseled in their presence. From Saturday, a police officer from CID, which has put up video alerts on the deadly game on its Facebook page, joined the counseling over phone and social media.
"I am very grateful for the intervention of my friends, teachers and the CID officer," he said.
"My message to whoever is in this game is stop before it is too late. It is not a game...they give you challenges and they take you to places you cannot come back from. They drive you to suicide. You are compelled to..." he said.
"I didn't reach that point."
The CID inspector who intervened is glad the awareness campaign had come in handy. "I did not initially tell the student I was police. I said I was a counselor. He was afraid that if he stopped playing, he might start getting phone calls from people called curators and engage with those who continue to play after the first few stages."
The student was using his phone to play the game and a friend's laptop. He has since removed the sim card.
The Blue Whale Game originated in Russia; over 100 deaths across the world have been linked to it.
Last month, a Mumbai schoolboy jumped off a building in what could be India's first 'Blue Whale' case. A Kerala teenager's family also alleged he killed himself.
Several states have warned parents and urged them to keep a close watch on their online activities
KOLKATA: An engineering student in Kolkata, believed to have completed several levels of the "Blue Whale" suicide game and had even carved an image of the animal on his arm with a blade, says he was saved by his college friends, faculty and counseling by the West Bengal police.
"I have come back," the third year student said on Monday, displaying fading wounds of the Blue Whale carved into his left forearm. He had heard of the online game from a WhatsApp group warning against playing it. He had thought, what's the big deal and started playing early August. He had reached stage eight which needed him to etch the whale diagram on his arm. The next challenge was to cut his lip. But he was yanked away from the brink in time.
The heartening story of survival came on a day a teenager's suicide in Uttar Pradesh was linked to the game. 13-year-old Parth Singh was found hanging in his bedroom. His father's phone, with the Blue Whale page open, was lying there. His family says the Class 6 student had been playing for the past few days and, told off, he started using his father's phone without telling him.
Last evening, Parth was supposed to attend a friend's birthday party but didn't come out of his room. His father broke open the door to find him hanging
It must be noted, however, that there still is no confirmation of the existence of the game, and suicides linked to it are from personal accounts of families/friends of those deceased who claim they have seen their loved ones performing tasks. While reports of suicides linked to the game have surfaced across the globe, authorities claim that the origin appears to be in Russia, which has reportedly seen about 130 related deaths and at least two arrests.
Schools as well as police officials in Europe and America have begun issuing advisories to parents urging them to be vigilant and to keep an eye out on what their children are sharing on their social media accounts.
The Blue Whale game or Blue Whale Challenge is believed to be a suicide game wherein a group of administrators or a certain curator gives a participant a task to complete daily — for a period of 50 days — the final of which is the participant committing suicide. Participants are expected to share photos of the challenges/tasks completed by them.
These daily tasks start off easy — such as listening to certain genres of music, waking up at odd hours, watching a horror movie, among others, and then slowly escalate to carving out shapes on one’s skin, self-mutilation and eventually suicide.
There is still uncertainty over how a participant plays the game. While some say the user has to install some app on their smart phone, others say it’s via social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook where the administrators get in touch with the participant after those interested throw out postings on social media asking for a “curator”. A number of different hashtags bluewhalechallenge, curatorfindmei_am_whale — act as signals for the anonymous curators.
