Pondy to curb menace of Blue Whale challenge: CM

Puducherry :  The Puducherry government would bring in a legislation to curb the menace of the Blue Whale challenge besides taking stringent action against those indulging in it, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said today. Citing reports of young students allegedly committing suicide in different parts of the country after playing the online game, the chief minister said it should be curbed soon.

“This is a matter of serious concern and the parents should keep a close eye on the behaviour of their wards,” he told reporters. The Puducherry government would soon set up monitoring committees through the cyber crime wing of the police to keep a vigil on the situation, he said. “Stringent action would be taken against those indulging in the game. A legislation would also be brought in Puducherry soon to curb the menace,” the chief minister said.

Narayanasamy also appealed to the Centre to pay immediate attention to the the menace of the online game and prevent it through “deterrent action”. He also said awareness camps would be held in schools and colleges to highlight the danger involved in playing the game and protect students. The chief minister said a student from Assam pursuing a course at the School of Management in Pondicherry University had allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a tree branch on the university premises yesterday.

“The police are probing the matter to find out whether the suicide was related to the blue whale game or due to depression or any other cause,” he said. He expressed shock over the suicide of a 17-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district yesterday. The girl had moved the Supreme Court against NEET-based medical exams. There were strong protests against the admission of students on the basis of NEET in Tamil Nadu and also in Puducherry.

“We have fought against NEET both inside and outside the Assembly seeking exemption for Puducherry from the CBSE-based NEET test. But the Centre imposed it on students discarding the pleas of the states, citing the Supreme court verdict,” he said. He urged the Centre to review the apex court verdict, urging it to ensure that NEET was not imposed on states that did not want it to be a yardstick for admission of students to MBBS.