Delhi Police issue ‘Blue Whale’ advisory for parents

New Delhi: As the threat of unregulated cyberspace looms large over children who have succumbed to the Blue Whale Challenge — a self harm inflicting game that has taken the social media by storm — the Delhi police issued an advisory for parents to monitor their child’s social media activity.

The game has led to half a dozen suicides all over India. Grappling with the ways to deal with the online menace, the Delhi police is also planning to involve experts to start awareness initiatives for parents and children.

“We are reaching out to parents and students through social media platforms to ensure that users are not attracted to such challenges on social media. We are keeping an eye on social media and tracking secretive groups and hashtags,” said a senior police official.

“Contact Delhi cyber crime cell in case of any suspicious online activity. Talk to your child about Blue Whale and the risks associated with it. Look for signs of secretive or unusual behavior,” the advisory reads.  

The police said that the internet game “instructs its participants, mostly teenagers, to carry out 50 dangerous tasks, the final challenge being committing suicide.”

The advisory was being given in view of the propensity of the game to instigate suicide and self-inflicted injuries and to prevent children from becoming potential victims of this “harmful game.”

The police advisory also asked parents to spend more time with their wards and encourage them to participate in outdoor games.

The Blue Whale Challenge involves a series of challenges such as waking up early in the morning, watching horror videos alone and inflicting injuries on oneself. It has been learnt that netizens cannot get the link of the game on the internet easily. After regular search, the game developer contacts the person and once the developer is sure about the determination of the participant to play the game, he/she will be given the tasks.