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Drunk father, forced marriage: Why tribal kids are playing Blue
Whale challenge
The rescued children told the police they were playing the Blue Whale Challenge in the hope that it would help solve personal problems.

INDIA (HTTP://WWW.HINDUSTANTIMES.COM/INDIA-NEWS/) Updated: Sep 15, 2017 13:12 IST

Ritesh Mishra (http://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/ritesh-mishra)

Hindustan Times, Raipur

The 30 tribal children were rescued by the police, who were alerted by the authorities at Dantewadas government high school. The school reported that several students had
carved whale-like shapes on their arms.(HT PHOTO)

At least 30 children in the Maoist-hit Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh have been found playing the Blue Whale challenge,
police said on Friday, underlining the lethal online games increasing reach into even remote stretches of India.
 Assistant superintendent of police Abhishek Pallav told Hindustan Times that they rescued 30 tribal children from the
government high school, Dantewada, on Thursday after school authorities reported that the students had used blades and
other sharp objects to carve whale-like shapes into their arms a tell-tale sign of the Russia-born self-harm game that has
claimed hundreds of lives across the world. The children have been sent for counseling.

They were playing a local adaptation of the Blue Whale game. They thought the game would help them solve their personal
problems. It was acting as some sort of faith healing, said Pallav.

This is the latest in a string of cases reported from across India of deaths or suicide attempts linked to the online game, rst
developed in Russia. Last month, a 19-year-old student was found hanging from the ceiling fan in Tamil Nadus Madurai as
part of the game, where players are asked to perform 50 increasingly difcult tasks of self-harm culminating in a suicide bid.
Each task must be lmed and shared as proof. The tasks range from self-harming, watching scary movies to waking up at
unusual hours.

Read more

The 50 tasks of fatality: Is Blue Whale Challenge really killing youngsters in India? (http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-
news/the-fatal-fty-tasks-is-blue-whale-killing-youngsters-in-india/story-XZhbCIW13VBs4ZHFn8aEoJ.html)

Lucknow: Class 10 student ends life, Blue Whale suspected (http://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/class-10-student-

ends-life-blue-whale-suspected/story-6jijWmhJHYWUrzdCCdB4uJ.html)

The government has issued an advisory and police teams across states are working with schools to counsel teenagers and
wean them away from the online game. But the increasing penetration of mobile phones and growing curiosity of teenagers
has proved to be a difcult challenge for authorities.

Police said the game appeared to have reached the desolate district, one of the poorest in the country and roiled by insurgent
violence, about two months ago. Authorities are now talking to the students parents and searching their homes for more
clues.

One child said if he played the game, his father would leave alcohol, another said he wanted to stop his father from forcibly
marrying him. They must have come to know about the game through the newspaper or internet. It seems that one child is
guiding others about game, Pallav told Hindustan Times. Police have now ordered a thorough search of other schools in the
region. The principal of the school, LB Yadav, wasnt available for comment.

Ofcials say they will spread awareness about the game but such drives end up being a double-edged weapon because it
arouses curiosity about the Blue Whale Challenge and fans its reach. Kids are telling that their personal problems are solved
by cutting and inicting pain on themselves, said Pallav.

Read more

Madras HC says it will act against deadly online games like Blue Whale Challenge
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/madras-hc-says-it-will-act-against-deadly-online-games-like-blue-whale-
challenge/story-h2zldh6YJRFqTZHcKTomDM.html)

Blue Whale challenge: You can enter but not leave, says teen before suicide (http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-
news/blue-whale-challenge-once-you-enter-you-can-never-exit-wrote-madurai-teen-before-committing-suicide/story-
LfbSgBrsLAOuKd0mCCzLDK.html)

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