Mumbai: The Thane police has issued an advisory to parents of young children on the precautions they can take to protect them from the lure of the online Blue Whale challenge, that involves goading participants into killing themselves as the last of the 50 dares. It led to the suicide of a teenager in Andheri a few months ago.

The advisory has different sections where it goes into detail about the Blue Whale, its consequences, on how teachers can help, and finally, what parents can do to help. Thane police PRO, S Narkar said, “We have issued this advisory so that parents and teachers are aware of it and would take proper precautions. We have issued this advisory in Marathi as well as in English and distributed it amongst parents and schools,” he said.

The advisory first explains what exactly is the Blue Whale challenge and why parents need to be concerned. It explains how it is an online game, with time-bound tasks given to participants, which they have to complete and then upload photos of the completed task. It is a game, which can be freely downloaded but is not available in any online app store.

The tasks given to the participants in this game include acts like carving one’s body with a razor, staying up late to watch scary movies sent by the curator, cutting one’s veins, drawing pictures of whales, among others. Participants are blackmailed and cyber bullied to complete these tasks.

Teachers have been advised to keep an eye on any behavioural changes in their students and check anything suspicious or alarming. Parents should observe children’s behaviour closely, be alert about moodiness, less or no communication, lack of interest in study and failing grades. The advisory tells parents that they need to talk to their children daily, make sure the child has access to appropriate websites and finally, to explore the online world together.