MADURAI: The 19-year-old college student from Madurai who committed suicide while allegedly ta king up Blue Whale challenge was found to have been glued to his mobile phone days before he resor ted to the extreme step.
Friends
and relatives of the victim say that he often kept aloof from others and even went missing for short periods.
Although his friends circle was aware of the game, he kept his family members in the dark about what he has been going through. He did not share the details with his brother even though he specifically inquired about the game. J Vignesh, 19, second year BCom student at a city college, was found hanging in his house at
Mottamalai
near
Vilachery
in Austinpatti police limits on Wednesday evening. His parents, daily wage labourers, are yet to come out of the shock and can't believe that their son had died due to a game.
The victim's grandmother
Anthonyammal
said that he was glued to his phone and neglected everything around him. She said she had promised him a new bike when he successfully completed his graduation, she said in a choking voice.
According to his brother Sathya Moothy , Vignesh was reluctant to share what he was playing.When he insisted on knowing about it, he would only say that it was a different game and did not elaborate further. “The night before he committed suicide, he went missing for a short while in the dead of the night. I went out in search of him but could not find him. When I returned later, he was found sleeping. He was found distressed for the past two days, but did not say why,“ he said.
P Amarnath, a young man from the village, said, “His friend's circle knew that he was playing
Blue Whale game and particularly that he was in the final stage. They were connected on a WhatsApp game and many were also playing it. They had warned him not to take up the suicide challenge. However, he told them that he would survive the challenge and meet them as a winner.“