Alert teacher rescues Class VI student from playing the Blue Whale Challenge

In another case of the Blue Whale challenge, a Class VI student of a private school was rescued from the clutches of the dreaded game on Tuesday after his teacher noticed a 'fish-like' figure on his arm.

At around 9 am, the teacher overheard the 12-year-old discussing the game with his classmates. He was showing them the image of a whale drawn on his arm. "The teacher brought him to my office. When we asked the child about the image, he said that he drew it as he was playing the Blue Whale game. We immediately informed the police and his family about it," said Anuradha Govind, Principal, JM International, Dwarka.

"We received a call from the school when teachers heard some students discussing the Blue Whale game. One of them also had images on his hand made with a sketch pen, which was initially mistaken to be inflicted injuries. The child is being counselled," said DCP (Southwest) Shibesh Singh.

School authorities learned from the boy's parents that he had been inquiring about the game in the last few days. They, however, ignored his queries.

The browser history on the boy's smartphone's history confirmed that he had been searching for information on the game since the last few days.

The student underwent a counselling session in the presence of his parents. According to school authorities, during the session, the teenager revealed that he learned about the game through media reports. "We think he was just curious to know about the game and that's why he started playing it," the principal said.

Experts, however, have a word of caution. "Many a time, people who are drawn to play such games are going through psychological issues and behavioral challenges. Parents need to monitor their children closely in this internet age as children are more vulnerable to fall in these traps," said Dr Jateen Ukrai, SR Psychiatry at Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital.