Mumbai Police Reacts To Man's Fake 'Suicide' Post

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 7,00,000 people die by suicide every year. As per the data released in 2019, suicide ranked as the fourth most common cause of mortality amongst people aged between 15 and 29. In fact, low and middle-income nations account for 77 per cent of suicides worldwide. People are advised to deal with such topics sensitively. However, an X (formerly Twitter) user earned the ire of the internet community after his suicide-related post turned out to be a hoax. The online backlash came after his post prompted the Mumbai Police to intervene, which once again underlined the seriousness surrounding suicide prevention.

The user dropped a picture of a hanging rope on X along with a cryptic note that read, “Goodbye 2007-2024”. Quite evidently, the post was meant to spark concern and so it did. Reacting to the picture, the Mumbai Police responded with the message, “We have followed you. Please share your contact details in DM.” Presumably, the police authorities sensed that something was not right and wanted to offer help and counselling to the user. However, they were unaware that he was just poking fun.

Soon, it was found out that the person was joking and he did not mean to take his own life. Replying to the Mumbai Police, the individual made another non-relevant meme post that had something to do with cricketer Virat Kohli, his wife-actress Anushka Sharma, and their daughter Vamikaa.

Social media users were left disgusted by the X-user’s post, underlining his insensitive and irresponsible joke. Schooling the individual, one user wrote, “Have some courtesy. At least they are paying attention.” Taking a sarcastic dig at him, another quipped, “Shows you are a kid”. “Side effects of not having proper education and common sense,” read another disappointed remark.

Joking about topics like suicide and other similar subjects can have undesired repercussions. For example, in October 2009, NBC News reported a teenager from New York was “charged with one third-degree count of falsely reporting an incident” after he faked his death by suicide by going live on a website and applying ketchup on his arm. The police were quick to trace the 17-year-old’s computer address. Upon reaching his residence in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, the teen admitted that it was a prank.

Disclaimer: If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)

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