It comes after Google revealed there had been huge interest in the suicide game.
ADVERTISEMENTIndian authorities have cracked down on a controversial online ‘game’ that encourages participants to kill themselves.
Chennai High Court, based in the southern region of Tamil Nadu, told police to take strict action against anyone sharing the Blue Whale Challenge.
The game, invented in Russia, sees people set a series of tasks over 50 days, climaxing with suicide.
The court’s action came after a student, Vignesh, 19, was found hanging in his house in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, on August 30. His death was linked to the challenge after the discovery of a suicide note, which reportedly read: “The game was a devastating one … once you enter it, you would not be able to come out.”
A report by Google Trends in August revealed that India had the highest proportion of searches for the game in the world.
Last month one of the game’s founders was jailed by a Russian court after pleading guilty to inciting teenagers to commit suicide.
Budeikin, sentenced on July 17, admitted his involvement in the suicide attempts of two girls in Russia, a 16-year-old and a 17-year old.
He told Russian press his victims were ‘biological waste’ and he was ‘cleansing society’.
If you’re affected by the issues in this story, or would like to talk to someone about them, please contact the UK-based Samaritans.