A 17-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh’s Mauganj district triggered a police panic on August 13 after uploading a reel that appeared to show her consuming poison. The video, later found to be staged, was part of a desperate bid to get followers, Times of India reported.
The reel, posted from Madha village in Hanumana, showed the minor mixing a white powder into water and drinking it. Captioned “Pyaar ki khushi ke liye (For the happiness of my love)… good bye”, the clip was flagged by cyber cell monitors as a potential suicide attempt. Within an hour, police traced the location and reached the girl’s home.
“She had ingested common salt, not poison,” Mauganj additional SP Vikram Singh told the publication. “She admitted to faking the act because her reels weren’t getting enough views.”
Hanumana police station in-charge Anil Kakre confirmed that the girl was located and questioned within two to three hours of the video’s upload. “She confessed immediately. We released her after counselling and a stern warning,” he said.
The incident has reignited concerns over the growing trend of dangerous online stunts among teenagers chasing digital validation. Officials criticised the misuse of emergency resources and warned against glamorising self-harm for social media traction.
“This kind of behaviour not only spreads panic but also diverts critical police and administrative bandwidth,” said a senior officer. “It’s a worrying reflection of how far some are willing to go for virtual popularity.”
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