BELAGAVI: Panic spread at a Kendriya Vidyalaya School here as teachers found cut marks on the hands of nearly 20 students who admitted to have been inspired by the Blue Whale game . Following inquiries, the principal said the children, from Classes 8 and 9, were not playing the game and had cut themselves only to boast to classmates.Teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya School No-2 in Belagavi Cantonment detected cut marks on the hands of the students - 16 boys and four girls - around four days ago.When questioned, some said they had fallen off their bicycle and bruised themselves.When the school authorities persisted, they said they had deliberately cut themselves so that they could claim to be playing the online game.Several suicides by teenagers across the country have been linked to the online game, that involves a series of 50 challenges, culminating in the player jumping off a building. The game, curated by a bunch of administrators, sets out tasks for the players, ranging from waking up at odd hours to watching horror movies and at one stage, carving a whale on one's hand with a knife and posting a photo.The KV students caught with the cut marks were sent to professional counsellors appointed by the school.Their parents have also been informed and told to keep a watch on their activities.Nearly 3,000 students study in KV-2 and following the development, school authorities have started awareness programmes for all. A circular has been issued to the subject teachers to make students aware of the dangers of the game and to discourage them from spreading word about it. "I questioned the students at length and found that the cut marks were nothing but a bid to attract the attention of fellow students," principal Arun Kumar Singh said.The district education department has now instructed headmasters, cluster and block resource centres and school development management committees to take measures to keep children away from such games."I have instructed headmasters and SDMCs to keep a watch on children. Parents also need to observe children in homes," deputy director of public instruction AB Pundalik said.

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