PUDUCHERRY: A former kick boxer, who has won several titles, was rescued from the clutches of deadly ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ following prompt action by her friend and Puducherry Police on Saturday night.
Police sources said a woman contacted Odiyansalai Police Station on Saturday night and introduced herself as an employee of a nationalised bank. She told sub-inspector Keerthi that her colleague Maheshwari (name changed) was addicted to the Blue Whale game, adding that during her last call a few minutes ago, she appeared incoherent. She shared the contact number of Maheshwari with the police. Sub-Inspector Keerthi immediately called Maheshwari on the phone and asked her about Blue Whale.
She refused to answer and hung up. The police then started monitoring her mobile phone with the help of Cyber Crime Wing, after informing Superintendent of Police Vengadasamy.
When they found Maheshwari’s phone was connected to Internet right through the night, the police went to her home in Uppalam on early in Sunday morning. By then, Maheshwari had left the house. Her parents said she was busy on her phone for the past few weeks and appeared depressed. The police immediately started tracing her mobile phone and found that she was on Beach Road.
Along with her parents, the police rushed to the spot and saw her sitting on the steps near Nehru Statue. They took custody of the phone and counselled Maheshwari before sending her home. Her mobile phone was sent for tests after confirming that she was indeed playing the deadly game. The police suspect Maheshwari came out of her home to end her life.
Later, SPs Apoorva Gupta and Vengadamsay visited Maheshwari’s home and counselled her further for more than two hours. Upon checking her house, the police found out some papers with blue whale drawings and sentences written in Russian language. They also found cut injuries on her hand. Puducherry DGP Sunil Kumar Goutam told mediapersons that the department has taken several steps to curb the Blue Whale menace, which was why Maheshwari was saved.