Nagpur Police, in a tweet, has appealed parents to safeguard their kids from the dangerous Momo Challenge, which reportedly like the Blue Whale Challenge encourages youngsters to commit suicide.

The tweet read: Momo suicide game risking your teens after #Bluewhale . The Momo game refers to an online challenge for which an avatar of a grotesque woman is being used. Pay close attention to your kid’s behavior and have open communication with them.

Momo suicide game risking your teens after #Bluewhale . The Momo game refers to an online challenge for which an avatar of a grotesque woman is being used. Pay close attention to your kid’s behavior and have open communication with them. pic.twitter.com/974gWKbxQn

? NagpurCityPolice (@NagpurPolice) August 16, 2018

The Momo challenge is a viral suicide challenge, just like the Blue whale or the Slenderman Challenge. The challenge starts with a Whatsapp message daring people, mostly teenagers between the ages 13 and 19, to add the contact of a stranger called Momo. Momo is a social media account that uses the image of a doll with sinister features, large eyes and a wide mouth to create fear and curiosity in the minds of impressionable youngsters. Once contact is established, Momo sends a number of challenges and activities that are to be completed in order to meet her. Momo also threatens to leak personal information or harm family members if the person does not complete the task given. The last task is suicide, much like the Blue Whale Challenge.

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The scary image is based on a doll by the name of ‘Mother Bird’ made by Japanese artist Midori Hayashi, who has no association with the challenge. Although, as per reports, the challenge has not reached India yet, it has been linked to the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in Argentina. Some cyber experts are calling the challenge fake and feel that it is a way to steal information and personal data.