Blue Whale Challenge: Indore teen attempts suicide, saved by friends

A Class 7 student in Indore who attempted suicide as part of the Blue Whale Challenge used to note in his school diary every successful stage completed in the dangerous self-harm game, school sources said on Friday. Some of the boy's friends at school knew that the boy was attempting the challenge but didn't take it seriously as they were not fully aware of its implications, sources added. Police said the boy bore no injury or marks of self-harm on his forearm. The deadly game, held responsible for scores of teenage deaths around the world, psychologically provokes players to indulge in daring, self-destructive tasks for 50 days before finally taking the “winning” step of killing themselves. A 14-year-old boy was allegedly goaded by the online challenge into killing himself by jumping off the terrace of his building in Mumbai on August 1 in what was believed to be the first casualty of the Blue Whale phenomenon in India. Mumbai police are, however, yet to confirm that the suicide was part of the dreaded challenge.