20-yr-old first Blue Whale suspect

(ANSA) - Milan, June 19 - A man has been placed under investigation in Milan as part of several cases opened in recent weeks to look into an online suicide game gaining popularity called Blue Whale. Participants are asked to carve the whale "onto your body, and while watching horror movies", and the game demands players complete 50 tasks in 50 days, with the "last task to commit suicide".
    The online game that targets teenagers and young children is triggering panic among parents and authorities worldwide after apparently inciting several suicides in Russia.
    A 20-year-old Milan resident has been placed under investigation for incitement to suicide after an inquiry by the postal police coordinated by prosecutor Cristian Barilli.
    He allegedly convinced a 12-year-old girl, who lives between Rome and northern Italy, via Instagram to cut herself in several paces and send him the photos. The investigation only recently began with the seizure of the alleged perpetrator's laptop and telephone and the victim's telephone. Technical assessments will in the next few days ascertain whether the messages were actually sent by the 20-year-old.