Cuttack: A 22-year-old youth injured himself at Bayalishmauza in Cuttack Sadar and family members suspect Momo Challenge had played a part in it.

Sunil Kumar Das was found lying unconscious and bleeding in his room with his wrist slashed just above the palm in the early hours of Saturday. He was brought to SCB Medical College and Hospital after the local public health centre administered him initial treatment and advised surgery.

Sunil's father Basudhar Das said his son had dabbled with the Momo Challenge on his mobile phone.

"It was all there in his phone. He had used a blade and then a sickle to cut his veins near the wrist, but was luckily saved as he lost consciousness halfway," Basudhar said.

Sunil works in the packaging section of a local spices manufacturing company. "He had not been going to work for two to three days and used to be absent-minded and disturbed," his father said.

"Rekha (my wife) told me that Sunil had even told her on Friday night that he had seen himself dying in a dream," Basudhar, who owns an autorickshaw, said.

He was still in a state of shock while he attended to his son in bed number 89 on the second floor of the surgery department.

Hospital's emergency officer Bhubanananda Moharana said: "He is under treatment, but stable. As part of the treatment psychiatrists are also counselling him."

While Sunil has survived, in less than a month there have been instances of two youths allegedly committing suicide provoked by the game.

While a 24-year-old youth killed himself by hanging in an under construction community youth club at Mahanga in Cuttack district, another BTech student from Bubaneswar travelled to Chennai and jumped from the sixth floor of a hospital.

On September 1, the state crime branch issued an advisory for parents and teachers. The police asked the parents to keep a close watch on the behaviour of their children, while also advising them to go through their text messages, call logs, Internet search history and social media communications to ensure that they didn't get addicted to the game. The advisory had also asked teachers to keep an eye on students who get involved in violent acts, as it could be related to the killer game.

The cops in all districts had been asked to convene a meeting with heads of educational institutions to spread awareness about the risks involved with the game.

"We urge the people to bring such incidents to our notice following which we will be able to save the victims before they take any extreme step," said a police officer.