The deceased, Manpreet Singh, a class nine student of a school in Andheri East, allegedly leaped to death on Saturday evening.(Express Photo by Aishwarya Maheshwari)
A 14-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide in Andheri on Saturday after jumping off the terrace of his seven-floor apartment. While locals said that the boy played a suicide game named Blue Whale, the police are yet to reach a conclusion over the motive for committing suicide.
The deceased, Manpreet Singh, a class nine student of a school in Andheri East, allegedly leaped to death on Saturday evening. He was first rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead upon admission. His body was later sent to Siddharth Hospital for a post mortem.
According to a forensic expert in Siddharth Hospital, the 14-year-old succumbed to external and internal injuries. “He had a fractured forearm, fracture pelvic region and enlarged liver,” the expert said. The boy suffered several trauma injuries as a result of an impact of the fall.
The police has registered a case of accidental death. A senior police official said the Blue Whale game is one of the angles they are investigating to understand the motive for the suicide. “We do not know yet whether playing the game led to the suicide. The boy’s parents are too shocked to record their statements. We are speaking to the boy’s classmates and friends,” he said.
A neighbour requested that Manpreet’s family be given privacy. “Let us wait till the cause for committing suicide is concluded. After that, they will be more than willing to issue a statement,” she said. Others living in the locality described Manpreet as being popular with children of all ages.
Read | What is the Blue Whale Challenge?
The police are also looking though Manpreet’s cell phone and computer for signs to conclude whether he had played the game.
The Blue Whale suicide challenge originated in Russia last year in closed groups on social media. The group’s administrators are believed to set members, mostly comprising teenagers, a set of fifty tasks to be carried out over 50 days which increase in their intensity and difficulty. Over the course of completing the challenges, the participants are also required to carve the shape of a blue whale into their forearms, and the last challenge is to commit suicide. In Russia alone, the challenge is reported to have claimed 130 lives so far.
