Taking serious note of the Blue Whale Challenge that has claimed many lives in India, the Gujarat government on Tuesday banned the lethal game in the state.
Blue Whale: A look at what makes the game so dangerous
The official release citing a notification in this regard was issued by the Home Department of the state government.
It came just hours after Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the state government would ban the Blue Whale Challenge — in which a self-harm group encourages teens to commit suicide.
The state government said it had banned the game because as it took serious note of the increasing incidents of suicide owing to the game.
"Instructions have been issued to all schools and principals asking them to keep a vigil to ensure that children and youngsters do not fall prey to the Blue Whale Challenge. They have been asked to create awareness about its effects on youngsters," the state government said.
Rupani had earlier in the day said his government had given instructions to the home department as well as the chief secretary to find ways to ban this game in the state.
"Officials have been asked to expedite the process to ban the game...We are totally committed to ban this game in Gujarat, as we cannot allow our children to commit suicide due to this game," Rupani was quoted as saying by Scroll.
Rupani had also expressed concerns against this deadly game when he distributed free NAMO E-Tab (New Avenues of Modern Education through Tablets) under the "Gyankunj Project" on Tuesday.
"While digitalising, my children should not take the wrong path… The way we have freed youths from the addiction of hookah bars by banning it, the state government is resolved to ban Blue Whale…. I have issued directions and in the coming days strong laws will be framed to help save people," the CM had stated.
Till now, there has been one report of a Blue Whale Challenge death in the state. A man in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat had killed himself on September 2 after completing the online game, said a Scroll report.
The man had, before jumping into the Sabarmati river in Palanpur, reportedly posted a video on Facebook, wherein he said: "I had downloaded the Blue Whale game and this is the last step, which is why I am committing suicide." The police had refuted his claim.
However, the Gujarat government is not alone in their fight against the Blue Whale Challenge, the Madras High Court on Monday had directed the Central and Tamil Nadu governments to explore possibilities of banning it.
It had also directed the Tamil Nadu Police to take strict action against those sharing the Blue Whale Challenge.
Google Trends have stated that India was ranked third in online searches for the Blue Whale Challenge in the last 12 months.
