Play the 'supari' on Facebook!

If you thought killings in video games could not get any kookier, here is a shocker — assassination, or supari. Namya Sinha tells more about the virtual Supari.

If you thought killings in video games could not get any kookier, here is a shocker — assassination, or supari, as it is colloquially known, is a game where assassins who meet up on Facebook hunt down targets in real life.

Supari is the Indian adaptation of Street Wars, a water gun assassination tournament played the world over. In India, it began in Mumbai and will soon come to Delhi. Tarun Durga, one of the creators, calls Supari "a social experiment in the guise of a game".

Each person who signs up (for ₹50) gets a supari with the target's name and contact details. The killer has five days to 'eliminate' the target with a water gun or water balloon.

Participant Karl Katgara says, "Work is slow right now and I thought this was a good way to kill boredom." The leading assassin currently has three 'kills' under his belt. The target has a safety net that changes each week. Last week, it was a vernacular magazine, and anyone seen with it could not be touched.

Dr Anil Seth, a consultant psychiatrist, explains this new craze as a craving to break the chain of monotony and the need for an adrenaline rush.