Two Class 9 girls have been rescued from here after they ran away from their home in Uttar Pradesh to complete a task while playing the macabre online game the Blue Whale Challenge, a Government Railway Police officer said on Thursday.
The girls, found at the Hoshangabad station late on Tuesday, revealed that they were given the task to run away from their homes in Agra and the admin of the game threatened to hurt their family members if they didn't comply, Hoshangabad GRP in-charge S.N. Mishra told IANS.
The girls then told their parents that they are leaving for school and boarded the Mumbai-bound Punjab Mail but soon enough realised that it's a mistake and informed their parents, he added.
The parents then informed the police who in turn alerted the GRP in Hoshangabad. The parents of both the girls reached here on Wednesday and took them back, he added.
The Blue Whale Challenge, reportedly created by a former convict in Russia, is said to psychologically provoke players to indulge in daring, self-destructive tasks for 50 days before finally taking the "winning" step of killing themselves.
According to media reports, over six cases across India have been suspected to be linked to the deadly game.
--IANS
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