MPs demand ban on 'Blue Whale' game

Members of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday asked the government to ban online games like 'Blue Whale' that provoked a Mumbai teenager to commit suicide last week.

BJP MP Amar Shankar Sable raised the issue during the Zero Hour and said the teenager, Manpreet, was playing ‘Blue Whale’ game for 50 days before jumping to death from the fifth floor of a high-rise.

Over 150 suicides in the US, Russia, England, Italy and other parts of the world have been linked to the game, the MP said, adding that the government should ensure that youngsters are not lured into the game that asks them to commit suicide to emerge as the winner.
Participants have been asked to ‘watch horror movies’, ‘travel without ticket’ and, in the end, asked to commit suicide, Sable said.

Another BJP member Vikas Mahatme said several online games are interactive and addictive, while Samajwadi Party’s Sanjay Seth said there must be legal provisions to block access to such games.

A group of admins or a curator in the Blue Whale game — also called Blue Whale Challenge — gives tasks to the participants to complete them in 50 days, at the end of which they ask the participant to commit suicide.

Those playing the game are asked to share pictures of their completed tasks.