Blue Whale case: Interim order to be issued on Sept 11

Following the death of 19-year-old college student Vignesh at Madurai, who had allegedly committed suicide while playing the game, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court headed by judges KK Sasidharan and GR Swaminathan had taken suo motu petition on the issue and had directed the registrar to file the case.

The petition stated that the court came to know about Vignesh’s death through media and preliminary investigation suggested that the teenager was playing Blue Whale and committed suicide as a part of the challenge. In his suicide note Vignesh had stated that Blue Whale is not a game but a risk and one who starts playing the game cannot come out of it. In most cases, people, who allegedly died while playing the game, jumped off a building, but Vignesh chose to hang himself.

Recently, schools and colleges in the city have also begun to spread awareness regarding the game to their students.

According to sources, the game throws 50 challenges to the players. The tasks get difficult as they progress to the end with the last challenge being to commit suicide.

It is not a game that can be downloaded. Its admins send links to the challenge only to people with low self-esteem, said sources. Players are also not allowed to quit the game with many survivors claiming that the admins had threatened to kill their families and loved ones if they backed out.

Noticing the severity of the game and limited preventive measures possible, the court took suo motu action on the issue.