Guwahati, Aug. 30: Assam police issued an advisory today asking parents to monitor and regulate online surfing of their children against deadly games.

The alert comes a day after it came to light that a city-based Class X student playing such a game had been admitted to the psychiatry department of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital after his teachers noticed an image of a whale carved on his arm with a blade on August 25.

GMCH doctors said three more students were brought to the hospital in the past week after they showed signs of depression. Six children have taken their lives in the country while playing the game.

"The administrators of such games assign challenges to participants like watching horror movies, harming self, poking a needle in the arm or leg, standing on a bridge or roof, listening to odd music and carving fish sign on the forearm. The final task is to commit suicide or homicide. The victims are asked to share photographs of completion of these tasks on social media as proof of participation in the challenge," the advisory said.

It asked all families to take the help of a psychiatrist and inform police (WhatsApp number 086055100) if they detect signs of depression, violence, isolation, self-harm, late night/ early morning Internet surfing in their child.

The police said there are at least four dangerous online challenges which involve emotional and psychological degradation of the players to the point of no return. A Unicef release warning about the recent developments, however, said it is one game that is known by four other names.

The games pose a series of time-bound challenges, which drag the player into a cesspool of isolation, depression and addiction attempting to reduce him/her into a totally controlled unthinking victim. The challenge is not downloadable. It is shared among secretive groups on social media networks. The creators seek out their victims aged between 12 and 19 years and send them an invitation to join. A Unicef release says the victim is given a total of 50 days to complete a series oftasks.

Former head of GMCH's psychiatry department, Dipesh Bhagawati said, "Adolescents are inquisitive and adventurous by nature. Those who do not find space for sports or other extra-curricular activities get engrossed in Internet, which is easily available on their smart phone, and look for adventure. At one point they can be victims of such dangerous games."

Guwahati-based software developer and CEO of Libresoft, Wrishiraj Kaushik, said such games cannot be blocked or hacked as their Internet protocol (IP) address cannot be located due to their origin in the dark web which normal search engines like Google cannot search.

Deputy commissioner, Kamrup (metro), M. Angamuthu said the administration would conduct awareness programmes and counselling in schools and colleges.

Chiranjeeb Kakoty, director of North East Society for the Promotion of Youth and Masses, also said they would conduct awareness campaigns for parents and teachers.