The Assam Police has appealed the parents and teachers of the schools to monitor and regulate the online surfing activity of their minor wards in the wake of the eventualities related to killer online game like Blue Whale.
The Assam Police’s appeal came after one youth of Guwahati luckily survived the killer game after his parents were alerted by school authorities on Tuesday. The youth was admitted to a hospital and is kept under surveillance of psychiatrist and he was stated to be under severe depression.
Police said that the Class X student got injured on Tuesday after he allegedly tried to to complete the final stage of the controversial online game Blue Whale. Police said that the school authorities informed his parents after seeing change in his behaviour for last few days. The school authorities had also spotted a picture of a whale carved on his arm, police added.
“We were told that he is a victim of the killer game. However we are yet to interrogate the boy as he is under depression and his condition is not fit,” said the police.
“Recently a few online games have become popular among youth who are glued to their mobiles, computers and are addicted to excessive video gaming. Some such harmful games like ‘Blue Whale’, ‘A Silent House’, ‘Sea of Whales’, ‘Wake Me Up at 4:20 AM’ etc. involve emotional and psychological conditioning of the players. The administrators of these games assign some challenges to the participants like watching horror movies, self harming, poking a needle to the arm or leg, standing on a bridge or roof, listening to music, carving fish sign on the forearm etc,” said the police advisory issued today.
Police said that the administrator of the game normally targets victims between 13-19 years of age. “The parents and elders in the family are advised to monitor and regulate the online surfing activity of their minor children. Certain ‘Parent monitoring’ apps or software available via internet may be used to keep a check on the surfing or download history by children. Teachers and civil society are appealed to encourage open discussion about Cyber and Social Media awareness among children,” the police said.
