Fatal ‘Blue Whale’ claims first life in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: The fatal Blue Whale game claimed its first victim in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday night when a 13-year-old boy committed suicide by hanging in his home. The incident took place in Maudaha in Hamirpur district where Parth Singh was found hanging by a ceiling fan in his home.

Parth, a student of Class 6, had his father’s smartphone in his hand and the blue whale game was on. The game directs the player to commit suicide in its 50th and final challenge. Family members said that Parth had started playing the game since the past few days and when the family tried to dissuade him, he started using his father’s smartphone to play the game.

His family members said that whenever the father was not around or sleeping, the boy would clandestinely play the game. On Sunday evening, Parth was to attend the birthday party of a friend but he did not go and locked himself in his room. A few hours later when he did not respond to knocks, his father Vikram Singh broke open the door and found Parth hanging.