KARACHI: Two female students in Jhelum were expelled from college for playing the Blue Whale challenge — a game that encourages self-harm, even suicide by players.

The two, students of grade 11 and 12 at Government Girls Degree College in Pind Dadan Khan, had reached level 18 and 22 of the game respectively, according to a Dawn.com report.

Raheela Chandni, the college principal, called the students’ parents to explain the situation after being informed that the girls were playing the game through another student.

The principal told DawnNews that she had decided to expel the girls after talking to their parents in order to “prevent other students from being influenced” into playing the game.

The girls, whose names were not disclosed, had inflicted injuries on their arms using a sharp-edged tool.

The Blue Whale challenge is an online game in which the administrator, or the curator, encourages the player to perform acts of self-harm over a course of 50 days, eventually leading to the person committing suicide.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2017