by Peerzada Arshad Hamid
NEW DELHI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Amid growing concerns in India to remove "the dangerous" online game - Blue Whale Challenge from websites, a 17-year-old girl jumped off a cliff into a lake in western state of Rajasthan, police said Tuesday.
The girl having incised on her arm the image of "Blue Whale," however, was rescued by police following her bid to commit suicide.
The incident took place around midnight on Monday in Jodhpur, about 337 km west of Jaipur city, the capital of Rajasthan.
According to police, the girl left home on Monday night, claiming she was going to market. However, after she did not turn up, her family frantically started searching for her and subsequently approached police.
"At around 11:00 p.m. (local time), our station received a call that someone is driving a scooter around Kalyana lake. Feigning suspicion, our men reached the spot and found that a person is jumping off a hilltop. Though they called her out, the person ignored them and plunged into the lake," a police official posted in Jodhpur said.
Following her jump, a police officer along with a diver jumped into the water and pulled the girl out of the lake alive.
The girl reportedly told the rescuers she had to "finish a task." The policemen found familiar "blue whale" shape incised on her arm with a knife.
Police officials suspect she was playing the online suicide game - Blue Whale Challenge.
"These are preliminary details," the police official said. "We would investigate the whole matter."
The incident came hours after the high court in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu directed police to take strict action against those sharing the Blue Whale Challenge. It also sought advice from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on removal of links of the deadly online game.
The court also asked local and federal governments to respond by Friday on removing the online game's links from social media.
Reports said the game has claimed one life in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district recently.
On Aug. 30, a 19-year-old college student was found hanging at his house in Madurai. In his suicide note, the boy said, "The game was a devastating one ... once you enter it, you would not be able to come out."
Several states in India are struggling with cases suspected to be linked to the deadly online challenge.
Since the game mostly evokes interest of children and teenagers, reports said some schools have issued an advisory to parents to keep watch over the Internet usage of their children.
Last month, the Indian government directed Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to immediately remove links of the online game - Blue Whale Challenge from its websites.
The online game has reportedly led to suicides of children in India and other countries.
The online Blue Whale Challenge is a suicide game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete for a period of 50 days and the final task leads to committing suicide. The participants are asked to share daring photos after finishing the different levels of the game. The photos are spread through links on social media platforms.
The dare-based "game" rumored as deadly originated in Russia, where it has reportedly led to over 100 deaths.
