New Delhi:
The Blue Whale Challenge, which has been targetting emotional teenagers and pushing them to suicide, has become a nigtmare for law and order bodies and parents alike.
To combat the issue a 24x7 helpline has been launched. The helpline will provide psychological support to teenagers increasingly getting trapped in the macabre online game.
The helpline -- 8376804102 -- is available for anyone who is directly undergoing undue mental stress and anxiety as a participant in the challenge. The numbers if attended by experts of Fortis Healthcare.
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 -- and each task must be filmed and shared as "proof".
The helpline is also available for family members who notice sudden negative behavioural changes among the young in the family.
Read | Blue Whale Challenge: 14-year-old boy hangs self in Lucknow
"We have been receiving calls both from teenagers as well as concerned parents. This helpline is geared towards intervening in times of crises as well as imparting psycho-education to help individuals and families cope with the situation," Samir Parikh, Director, (Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences) at Fortis Healthcare, said in a statement on Thursday.
The Central and state governments have been taking stern steps to curb the reach and prolification of the game. The government recently directed internet majors -- Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo -- to erase links pertaining to the Blue Whale Challenge.
"Instances of children committing suicide while Blue Whale Challenge have been reported in India... You are hereby requested to ensure that any such link of this deadly game in its own name or similar game is immediately removed from your platform," the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated.
Gujrat and Maharashtra governments have banned the game, while Tamil Nadu government has issued an advisory against it.
