Teen dies while filming social media reel

Lucknow: An 18-year-old youth’s dream of carving a niche for himself on social media by making reels ended in tragedy after he accidentally died while shooting a video in the Madiaon area, police said on Wednesday.

According to police, the deceased, Mohammad Zakir, had locked himself inside a room of his house on April 5 to record a video allegedly depicting a hanging scene. In the process, he lost balance, causing the noose to tighten around his neck.

Family members said Zakir’s mother, Shehnaz Bano, was in another part of the house cooking, while other members had stepped out for work. When she did not hear from her son for a long time, she knocked on the door. Receiving no response, she raised an alarm and called neighbours for help.

The door was eventually broken open, and Zakir was found hanging unconscious. He was immediately brought down and rushed to Balrampur Hospital in critical condition.

Doctors admitted him to the emergency ward, where he remained under intensive medical supervision for three days before dying on Wednesday morning. Police have sent the body for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death.

A senior police officer said that Zakir’s mobile phone was recovered from the room, and his last reel was also found on the device. The phone has been sent for further analysis to the forensic science laboratory (FSL).

Zakir came from a modest background. His father, Mohammad Rafiq, works in the scrap business. Zakir had discontinued his education after Class 8 and was the third of four siblings. Investigators also found that Zakir was active on social media and maintained an Instagram account with around 1,700 followers.