‘Momo Challenge’ the new ‘Blue Whale game’ in India?

"Momo Challenge", a new online game similar to the notorious "Blue Whale game", has made authorities concerned of West Bengal and the Indian IT and Electronics Ministry sit up after a string of suicides in certain parts of the country recently, particularly in the eastern state.

The ministry has issued an advisory to all schools against the "Momo Challenge" that prods teenagers and children to suicides, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"Momo Challenge" has reportedly claimed lives of two persons at Kurseong in Darjeeling district of West Bengal in two days on August 20-21. The victims were identified as Manish Sarki (18) and Aditi Goyal (26).

The "Momo Challenge" features a creepy image, called the "Mother Bird by Link Factory", of a girl with distorted face and eyes bulging out.

The Indian IT Ministry asked the parents to keep an eye for symptoms connected with the "Momo Challenge" like depression, withdrawal from friends and/or family members.

Referring to messages on popular platform Whatsapp inviting youngsters to play "Momo Challenge", the West Bengal chapter of the Association of Heads of Indian Council for Secondary Education has called upon all member schools to urge parents to keep a watch on their children. 

The West Bengal police had earlier said all the numbers from where the messages were sent to the people in the state to play the game were based abroad and an investigation was initiated into it.