The Madras High Court on Monday asked the central and Tamil Nadu governments to explore the possibility of banning the Blue Whale Challenge online game. A Madurai bench of the court issued notices to Information and Broadcasting Secretary NK Sinha, Tamil Nadu Home Secretary Niranjan Mardi and the state’s IT Department, PTI reported.
The court also told IIT-Madras Director Bhaskar Ramamurthy to offer suggestions to ban dangerous online games.
The Tamil Nadu government told the court that Vignesh, the student who committed suicide in Madurai on August 30, had shared the game with 75 others. However, it claimed that all 75 of them had been stopped from trying their hand at the challenge.
The judges told Tamil Nadu Director General of Police TK Rajendran and the home secretary that a “severe warning” could be issued to those who share the game with others.
The court also said that students should be made aware of the dangers of games like the Blue Whale Challenge. Officials of the Central Branch Crime Investigation Department, who were present in court, said that they were taking steps to freeze the online game.
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