The State government will write to the Centre seeking a ban on the online game Blue Whale that had allegedly led to the suicide of many youngsters, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly on Wednesday.
Replying to a submission moved by Raju Abraham in the House, he said the police had come across reports of young addicts of the game being driven to suicide like that of a teenager in Mumbai. The government would urge the Centre to impose a ban on the game by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), the only agency authorised to take necessary action.
Mr. Vijayan informed the House that the police had stepped up surveillance on children who had installed the Blue Whale game and launched an awareness drive to warn students and parents about the consequences of getting addicted to it.
Moving the submission, Mr. Abraham said more than 2,000 children in Kerala had reportedly downloaded the Blue Whale game. The game had already been banned in many countries after youngsters had committed suicide after getting hooked to it, he said.
Pointing out that the police in Kollam district had launched a campaign against the game, he called for a coordinated effort to wean children away from its influence.
