Online Game Claims Life of 16-Year-Old: Teen Jumps from 14th Floor in Pune for Task, Writes ‘Log Off’ in Suicide Note

Do you remember the Blue Whale game, where players were forced to commit suicide through various tasks? Although this game has been banned in the country since 2017, a similar game has emerged. The incident took place in Pune, Maharashtra. A 10th-grade student jumped from the 14th floor to complete a task from the game, leading to his death at the scene.

The police found a note in the deceased student’s room, which had a task drawn in pencil involving jumping from his apartment and gallery. The note also included the phrase “log out.” 

Additionally, several papers with coding language related to the game were discovered in his room. The police have now registered a case of accidental death and have started an investigation into the game. They also found three building designs in the student’s room, with one map detailing how to commit suicide.

Mystery Surrounds Teen’s Suicide: Password Remains Unknown

The password for the laptop of the teenager who committed suicide is still unknown to both his parents and the police. This presents a significant challenge for the Pimpri-Chinchwad police in determining which game the teen played before his death. 

To investigate the matter, the police will enlist the help of cyber experts. DCP Swapna Gore has urged parents to keep a close watch on their children’s mobile phones and laptops to prevent such tragedies.

The teenager’s mother shared, “My son had changed a lot in the last six months. He had become aggressive, and as a mother, I was afraid to confront him. I tried very hard to pull him out of this game, but he would snatch the laptop from me whenever I took it away. 

He had changed so much that he wasn’t even afraid of fire; he wanted a knife. He wasn’t like this before. He used to delete the history on his laptop.”

Teen’s Isolated Behavior and Gaming Obsession Lead to Tragic End

The incident occurred on the night of July 26 in the Kiwale area of Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune. Here, 15-year-old Umesh Shrirav lived with his mother and younger brother while his father worked in Nigeria. His mother, an engineer and homemaker, reported to the police that her son had developed an obsession with games over the past six months. 

He would lock himself in his room for hours, forgetting to eat and talking to himself. A few days prior, Umesh had been playing with a knife as part of a game task. On July 25, he stayed locked in his room all day, only coming out briefly to eat before returning to his room. The mother was occupied with her younger son, who had a fever. 

In the middle of the night, she received a message on the society’s WhatsApp group stating that a child had fallen from a building. She went to her room and found that Umesh was missing. Rushing downstairs, she found him lying in the parking area, covered in blood. He passed away before he could be taken to the hospital.

Blue Whale Game’s First Victim in India: Manpreet Singh Sahni

In July 2017, the Blue Whale game claimed its first victim in India—14-year-old Manpreet Singh Sahni, a student from Mumbai. Manpreet took his own life by jumping from the seventh floor. According to a report released in 2019, this game has been linked to the deaths of over 100 children in Russia, Ukraine, India, and the United States.