Model-actor Poonam Pandey, 32, has died of cervical cancer, says her team: reports

In 2020, 1,23,907 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, leading to 77,348 deaths, making it the second most common cancer among Indian women.

Model-actor Poonam Pandey has died of cervical cancer, her team said in a message on her Instagram account on Friday. She was 32. She died on Thursday night, her team told News18. She reportedly died at her family home in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur.

“This morning is a tough one for us. Deeply saddened to inform you that we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer,” her team wrote in a post shared on Pandey’s Instagram.

“Every living form that ever came in contact with her was met with pure love and kindness.”

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A post shared by Poonam Pandey (@poonampandeyreal)

The news left her followers in shock and disbelief, with many of them paying their tributes to Pandey in the comments section on her Instagram. Many users also wondered if it was a marketing gimmick.

Pandey's last Instagram post four days ago is a clip of her, flanked by security guards, at an event in Goa.

She shot to internet fame over a decade ago when she said that she will strip if India won 2011 Cricket World Cup final match.

The social media personality was last seen in the first season of reality TV show, "Lock Upp", which was hosted by actor Kangana Ranaut. Ranaut was among those who paid tribute to Pandey. "This us so sad. Losing a woman to cancer is a catastrophe. Om shanti," she wrote on Instagram.

Pandey was briefly married to filmmaker Sam Bombay in 2020. She had accused him of domestic violence shortly after their wedding.

Incidentally, the news of Pandey's death comes a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in Budget 2024, announced the initiative taken by the centre to promote cervical cancer vaccination among girls aged 9 to 14. The vaccination programme will involve the administration of the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine designed to offer protection against specific strains of cervical cancer.