This death was widely reported as a murder in which the student was misidentified as enrolled in Boston University and was said to have been robbed and that the body was found in a car in a jungle.
In a first, a 20-year-old Indian student studying at the University of Massachusetts took his life in March while playing a game. The student, whose identity remains confidential out of respect for his family, reportedly succumbed to the deadly allure of the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, an online game infamous for its association with suicides. The Bristol County District Attorney’s office is currently investigating the case as an ‘apparent suicide’. Initially, there was confusion surrounding the incident, with reports incorrectly labeling it as a murder and misidentifying the student’s university affiliation. However, subsequent clarifications by reputable sources like The Boston Globe have set the record straight.
This death was widely reported as a murder in which the student was misidentified as enrolled in Boston University and was said to have been robbed and that the body was found in a car in a jungle.
This heartbreaking incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers lurking in the digital world, especially for vulnerable demographics like teenagers and young adults. The ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ is known for its insidious nature, preying on individuals through a series of escalating dares that ultimately lead to self-harm or even suicide.
This student from India’s fatal challenge was holding his breath for two minutes, according to official reports. This may be the first instance of a Blue Whale challenge fatality for an Indian abroad.
About Blue Whale Challenge
The “Blue Whale Challenge” is an online game in which participants are given a dare to perform and these dares become increasingly more difficult over 50 steps.
The Indian government had wanted to ban this game years ago but settled for a more detailed advisory instead.
“Blue whale game (The suicide game) is abetment to suicide,” said the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in the advisory issued in 2017, a year after the emergence of the game.
“It is understood through various internet reports that it is shared among secretive groups on social media networks. The creators seek out their players/victims who are in depression and send them an invitation to join. The basis of the challenge is that an anonymous ‘group administrator’, otherwise known as ‘the curator’, hands out 50 tasks to selected ‘players’ that must be completed, documented and posted during a 50-day period. Players of the challenge can’t stop playing once they’ve started; they are blackmailed and cyber bullied into completing the ‘game’ instead.”
Asked specifically about the student’s death in this game, Miliote said, “Have no info about this. Case is being investigated as an apparent suicide. Awaiting medical examiner’s final conclusions before case is closed out. This was on March 22. There has been no response to requests for an update. He did not respond to a text and a voice call message on Friday.”
Many Blue Whale Challenge deaths were reported in Russia in 2015-2017.
According to reports the game is played on social media platforms. It involves an administrator and a participant. The administrator assigns one task a day for a 50-day period. The tasks are innocuous enough in the beginning, but they are progressively harder with self-harm coming in the final stages.
