What Is Blue Whale Challenge? Online Game Linked To Indian Student's Death In US

In a grim turn of events, a 20-year-old Indian student in the US who was reported dead on March 8 could be another youngster who fell prey to the sinister online game the Blue Whale Challenge. A first-year student at the University of Massachusetts hailing from Andhra Pradesh, India possibly died playing the game as he was found dead in a car in the middle of the jungle.

The Indian student earlier was mistakenly marked as a student of Boston University. Initially, the case was investigated as murder and robbery. Speaking on the his death, Gregg Miliote, a spokesperson for the Bristol County District Attorney has said that the case is being investigated as “apparent suicide," the news agency has reported. When asked student's death due to the game, Miliote said, “We have no information on this. The case is being investigated as an apparent suicide. We are awaiting the medical examiner's final conclusions before the case is closed."

What Is Blue Whale Challenge? Indian Student's Death In US Likely Linked

The Blue Whale Challenge is an online game trend that surfaced in 2016 and has been associated with multiple suicide cases around the world since then. It is a sinister game that is also stated as a "suicide game" by the Indian government where the players are given 50 tasks/dares to complete over 50 days, culminating in a suicide task on the 50th day. 

The game reportedly seeks out youth battling with depression, inviting them to this online challenge that is also spread on many social media groups. An online "curator" aka "group administrator" hands out daily tasks to the players for 50 days as these tasks are innocuous initially but later begin progressing harder to self-harming dares with the final task challenging the player to kill themselves. 

These 50 tasks must be documented and posted online once completed. While many suggest the game is "addictive" and one cannot stop once they indulge themselves in the game, however, many claim the players cannot back out once they participate in the game as they are blackmailed and cyber-bullied into finishing the game. 

Indian Government since the launch of the game has been willing to ban the game but later settled with a more detailed advisory that was issued in 2017, a year later to the game's launch calling it an "abetment to suicide."

The advisory issued by the IT Ministry of India highlighted the game's presence on social media and urged parents and guardians to be vigilant about their children's online activity and noted its manipulative tactics to add more players, encouraging them to kill themselves. While the game itself may no longer be readily available online, concerns linger about similar challenges targeting young people.

The 20-year-old Indian student reportedly held his breath for 2 minutes which led to his death and marks as the first reported fatality linked to the Blue Whale Challenge involving an Indian student abroad.