Odisha Police to launch awareness campaign on ‘Blue Whale’ menace

KalingaTV News Network

Cuttack: A day after rescuing an engineering student hooked to Blue Whale Challenge in Cuttack, Odisha police on Wednesday decided to visit schools and colleges across the state and make students aware of the dangers of the deadly internet game.

Odisha DGP R.P.Sharma has issued detailed guidelines in this regard after holding a review meeting of the CID Crime Branch. The guidelines have been issued to all the Superintendents of Police (SPs) and Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) in the state. They are also meant for the parents, teachers as well as police officers.

Sharma has asked the SPs and DCPs to instruct the IICs/OICs to convene meetings with Principals and Heads of Schools and Colleges and apprise them of the dangers associated with the lethal online game “The Blue Whale Challenge”.

The IICs/OICs have been instructed to quickly respond to reports associated with the lethal online game and take immediate steps to identifying the links/mobile applications/web based applications containing Blue Whale Challenge game and furnish the same to the CID Crime Branch for taking prompt steps in removing those links from the internet.

The police have also been instructed to conduct frequent checking at Cyber Cafes and their computer systems for availability of any link/website (from Internet Search History) pertaining to various online games like – Blue Whale Challenge, A Quiet House, A Silent House, A Sea of Whales, Wake Me Up at 4:20 AM and take immediate steps to remove those links and format the computer systems.

The Heads of the educational institutions have been requested to convene parents-teachers meetings to sensitize the parents and launch an awareness campaign among the students in their educational institutions.

The top cop asked the teachers to keep an eye on falling grades and social behavior of the students and monitor the behavior of each and every child. They should look for anti-social behavior and to personally talk to children who don’t interact with other children much or stay aloof.  If they observe something that seems suspicious or alarming, they should inform the school authorities immediately, Sharma said.

He further directed the teachers to ensure that children are sensitized about the pros and cons of the internet from time to time.