Bhubaneswar, Sept. 12: Police rescued two youths, who were allegedly playing the Blue Whale Challenge.

While Lingaraj police rescued a 27-year-old engineering graduate at Old Town this evening, Sahadevkhunta police rescued a 17-year-old Industrial Training Institute (ITI) student in Balasore yesterday.

'Few friends of the Old Town youth alerted the cops that he had locked himself in a room for the past five days. We reached there and tried to pursue him to open the door, but in vain. So, we called the police and broke open the door,' said Pradeep Kumar Prusty, a social worker in the locality.

Prusty also said the youth had tattooed a blue whale on his hand. 'The youth admitted of having played the game for the past 20 days. A blade was also found from the spot. Besides, we found him of breaking the lights in the room and confining himself there for the past five days,' said Prusty. The youth was later admitted at BMC Hospital.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said the youth would be counselled to find whether he had got trapped by the game. 'We will also go through his mobile phone. He is undergoing treatment at the hospital,' said Bhoi.

In the second incident, timely intervention of ITI institute authorities and the police saved the juvenile hailing from Jaleswar on Monday.

The student resides in a private mess and had been upset for the past few days. His classmates also found him of behaving erratically, for which they informed the matter to the principal and subsequently the police.