Blue Whale Challenge: No confirmation that teen death related to it, says Kerala police

After a suspected case of a Blue Whale Challenge death in Kerala, the Kerala police said that there was no confirmation that anybody in the state had been using the game. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Thiruvananthapuram range IG Manoj Abraham said that although two suspected cases have surfaced in the last 24 hours, the police have not been able to officially confirm that either of the deaths was related to the game.  The senior police official said that the state police will take necessary measures to carry out cyber-awareness for children as well as their parents. IG Manoj said that although the police will take all possible measures to restrain teenagers from being influenced by the game, he added that it was the parents who should exercise caution. The police will also make use of digital technologies to investigate the cases, he said.  Director General of Police (DGP) Loknath Behera too, told media that there was no official confirmation that anybody in Kerala has downloaded or been part of the game that has reportedly lead to the suicide of at least two teenagers in the country. DGP Behera assured that there was no need for people to panic and that the police will strengthen their awareness programmes to deal with the situation.  On Tuesday, mother of Manoj, a 16-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram who hanged himself last month, revealed that Manoj had told her that he was playing a game called the Blue Whale Challenge. The Class 11 student was found hanging at his residence on July 26 and prior to that, he had several cut marks on his body that he had inflicted upon himself. Anu spoke about how her son's behaviour began to change after November, and how Manoj traveled all alone to the beach and began to spend time at a nearby cemetery.  After Anu approached the police and the media to share her suspicions about her son's untimely death, another mother from Kannur said that she suspects her son's death was also related to the Blue Whale Challenge. Savanth, a student of ITA, had killed himself in May this year and his parents told media that they suspect their son, who had been addicted to mobile games, could have been a victim of the Blue Whale Challenge.