‘I’m alive’: A model in India faked her death to raise awareness about cervical cancer

White lie? An Indian model caused an online storm on Saturday after admitting she faked her death on Instagram for PR purposes to raise awareness of cervical cancer.

Poonam Pandey “fought a courageous battle against the disease” and died, according to a statement posted on her social media on Friday.

Local media published obituaries for the 32-year-old and her Wikipedia page was updated following her apparent death, with Bollywood stars paying tribute to her.

But some began to question the young woman’s death, especially given photographs of her apparently in good health on board a boat in Goa released four days earlier.

Video confession

Poonam Pandey later admitted to her 1.3 million followers in another video posted on Instagram that her death was a hoax.

“Yes, I faked my disappearance, I know it’s extreme. But suddenly we’re all talking about cervical cancer, right? “,” Poonam Pandey wrote. “I am proud of what has been achieved since my death was announced.”

Many Internet users criticized the girl for wanting to attract attention at any cost. “Participating in a fraudulent operation, such as faking one’s own death, under the guise sensitization It’s not only unethical, but also manipulative,” said one internet user. “Shame on you (…) next time no one will take your real death seriously! “, wrote another.

The young Indian woman began her modeling career in 2010 and quickly gained fame for her extravagance. She promised to strip for the Indian cricket team if they won the 2011 Cricket World Cup and then posted a video of herself stripping at the Wankhede Stadium where the final was being held. She has also starred in Bollywood films, including the 2013 erotic thriller Nasha.

India accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s cervical cancer cases, according to the World Health Organization. Non-governmental organizations are running a national campaign to vaccinate young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV), which has significantly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer in other countries.