Bury deadly 'Blue Whale' game, says Nasscom

Concerned at the 'Blue Whale game' phenomenon that has taken several lives globally, including in India, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) on Thursday issued an advisory for all stakeholders to check the spread of the game.

"We at NASSCOM-DSCI have apprised our member companies of the gravity of the situation and issued an advisory for all stakeholders concerned to annihilate the danger posed by this game," the apex software industry body said in a statement.

"We have also reached out to the Ministry of Women and Child Development to issue alerts to parents, schools and colleges, and recommended that it activates a hotline or web portal to receive tip-offs to identify sources of the game. Together, we hope that we can bury the Blue Whale once and for all," it added.

On Wednesday, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called the 'Blue Whale' game totally unacceptable and said clear instructions have been issued to all tech platforms to check the spread of the aforesaid game.

"We received several complaints related to the 'Blue Whale' game that it has been provoking youngsters to commit suicide. We have taken tough measures. Under the IT eco-system, no initiative shall be permitted which provokes young boys to commit suicide. It is plainly unacceptable," Prasad said.

On July 30, a 14-year-old schoolboy Manpreet Singh Sahani walked off the fifth floor of his residential building in Mumbai, while a former Manipur minister's son died after falling from a terrace in Delhi recently.

The 'Blue Whale' game is suspected to be behind both the deaths. A teenager in Kerala also hanged himself to death allegedly while completing a 'Blue Whale' challenge.

--IANS

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