Uttar Pradesh Police arrests ‘dead body’ lying on road; social media demands legal action against ‘corpse’, here’s why

Mukesh Kumar, a man from Uttar Pradesh, pretended to be a “dead body” in public apparently to gain social media fame. His friends are said to have filmed the fake death on a busy road for an Instagram Reel. The police have now arrested Kumar over this incident.

Kumar staged the scene where he appeared lifeless, lying on a red mat wrapped in a piece of white cloth, with cotton in his nostrils and a garland around his neck.

To film the video without interruptions, he positioned the Kasganj police barrier across the road to divert traffic. Surrounded by people, he was spotted lying on the road while the camera captured the event. The video has now gone viral.

“Reel kya na kara de...Uttar Pradesh ke jila Kasganj mein ek yuvak ne chauraha par letkar marne ka dhong kiya. Police ne ‘reelputra’ Mukesh Kumar ko giraftaar kiya ("People will do anything for Rees. In the Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh, a young man pretended to be dead by lying down at a crossroads. The police arrested 'Reelputra' Mukesh Kumar.)," a user wrote while sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter).

Social media reactions

Social media users were left furious by the stunt. Some have called Mukesh “shameless” while some appreciated the police arresting him.

One of the users wrote in apparent jest, “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should impose 18% GST on making Reels.”

Another user wrote, “The police should give them a thrashing; they are sending a bad message to society."

“What a bizarre mentality! Everyone is after social media fame. The police did well,” wrote one user.

“The man should get appropriate treatment,” wrote another while another posted, "The world is full of strange and crazy people. He should be given proper training in making good welcome reels and should make a reel to post on social media."