Bengal CID warns against playing killer game 'Momo Challenge'

Amid fear over the spread of online killer game 'Momo Challenge' that has allegedly claimed two lives in the state, the West Bengal CID on Monday asked parents to ensure that their children do not play the game.

Several persons from the state claimed to have received requests to play the deadly online game through unknown numbers on Whatsapp in the last few days. Two youths in North Bengal's Darjeeling district are suspected to have committed suicide after playing it.

Terming 'Momo Challenge' as a new killer game on social media, the CID said it had directed educational institutions to keep a tab on the behaviour of students and notify authorities if they found anything suspicious.

"Please make your children/ward not to play this game... Any information or activity regarding the game could be shared with their department or local police," the department said in a notice put up on its Twitter account.

The issue was first reported earlier this month after a girl from north Bengal's Jalpaiguri reported receiving a Whatsapp request from an unknown number with a scary profile picture to play the game.

On August 21, a Class 12 student from Darjeeling district's Kurseong was found hanging at a deserted yard with symbols and words like 'Illuminati' and 'devil's one eye' inscribed on the wall.

Another death of a young girl was reported under similar circumstances in the same district the next day.

According to police, the symbols possibly have direct links with the online game where an unidentified person allegedly instructs the players to perform certain tasks.

A number of other victims have from different districts, including one woman from Kolkata, have since then lodged police complaints about receiving invitation to play the game.

The 'Momo challenge', considered to be the successor of the notorious 'Blue Whale Game', is a form of cyber-bullying that spreads through social media and cell phone.

The game features a scary image of a girl with bulging eyes. It is reported to have gained public attention in July 2018 when it was noticed by a YouTube user with a large following.

--IANS

mgr/mr