Raipur: A 19-year-old social media content creator died by suicide, live on Instagram, at her home in Janjgir Champa district of Chhattisgarh on Monday. The horror came to light only on Thursday.
At least 21 of Ankur Nath’s followers watched in horror as she hanged herself. A couple of those who lived nearby ran to her home to save her but in vain.
An officer said a preliminary investigation indicates she took the extreme step due to ‘heartbreak in love’. According to police, her parents said she was hooked on her phone and would post reels and videos regularly, attracting her much attention.
Ankur’s parents, who work in Hyderabad, are in shock and unable to tell the police anything else for now. She lived with her elder sister in Nawagarh town, around 150 km from Raipur.
On Dec 30, she went live on Instagram, and several of her followers soon joined. They were shocked to realise she was preparing to hang herself. One of them told police that he felt helpless as he was simply a follower of her account and knew nothing about her. He is still in shock, said the police. Another of her followers said he tried calling her phone but couldn’t connect.
Police said that a couple of her friends rushed to her home and found it locked from inside. They raised the alarm and called neighbours to help save her, but by the time they could enter the house and find her room, she had hanged herself. She was taken to a nearby health centre, where she was declared dead.
Police are going through her mobile phone to look for clues to why she took the extreme step.
