Darjeeling: Class 12 student kills self; role of 'Momo Challenge' suspected

Several graffiti and words were found scribbled on the walls of the shed, which suggested that he may have fallen prey to the fatal Momo challenge.

After the horrific blue whale challenge, there is another unsettling “game” called the Momo WhatsApp challenge that is spreading wildly on social media. (Instagram/ xperience1282)

New Delhi: A suicide case of a class 12 student, which is apparently linked to the new viral suicide game challenge ‘Momo’, has emerged in Darjeeling’s Kurseong. As per reports the boy, who was a commerce student, hanged himself to death on August 20 at around 9 pm. Reports have it that the deceased did not hang himself in his house but in an animal shelter which is located outside the village. Several graffiti and words like ‘Hanged Man’, ‘Illuminati’, and ‘metal’ were found scribbled on the walls of the shed, which suggested that he may have fallen prey to the fatal Momo challenge. The locals said that the boy paid regular visits at the shelter because of smooth internet connectivity. As per report in a leading daily, the boy was identified as Manish Sarki. His cousin reportedly claimed that ‘Hanged Man’ was a drawing made by Manish in the Momo app. The Momo challenge is a social media account on WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube, which uses the image of an artwork invoking horror among people. The image of a girl with a distorted face and bulging eyes along with a wide mouth is a creation of Japanese artist Midori Hayashi, who is not associated with the game in any way, is used by these accounts, reported the Sun. Like the Blue Whale game, Momo game also challenges teens to carry out bizarre and life-threatening tasks which may ultimately lead to suicide