The body of 32-year-old YouTuber Atif Abbasi, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a guesthouse in Kaliyar area of Haridwar on Thursday, police said. His girlfriend was on a video call with him when he allegedly took the extreme step, they added.
Police suspect that a dispute with his girlfriend may have led to the incident, though the circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated.
According to reports, Abbasi, a native of Nirana village in Muzaffarnagar district, was a social media content creator with approximately 4,00,000 followers on Instagram.
He had reportedly been living in a rented room in Muzaffarnagar with a young woman and her brother.
Police said Abbasi arrived in Kaliyar at around 11 pm on Wednesday and checked into the Kazmi Guest House.
According to the available information, he allegedly initiated a video call with the young woman at around 5 am on Thursday, propping his mobile phone against a pillow on the bed.
During the call, he reportedly tied a bedsheet he had brought with him to the ceiling fan and hanged himself.
The young woman allegedly witnessed the incident during the video call and showed what was happening to Abbasi's brother through another mobile phone.
His brother reportedly took a screenshot of the video and shared it with other family members.
After learning about the incident, Abbasi's family members and the village head reached the Kaliyar police station and informed the authorities.
Acting on the information provided by the family, including the location details, police personnel reached the guesthouse to investigate.
POLICE BREAK OPEN ROOM DOOR
When the police arrived at the guesthouse, the room was found locked. Police personnel and a forensic team broke open the door and discovered Abbasi's body hanging from the ceiling fan.
The police recovered the body and completed the formal inquest proceedings, known as a panchnama, before sending it for a post-mortem examination.
A forensic team also visited the scene to collect evidence as part of the investigation.
The incident caused a stir in the area, with the police beginning an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the content creator's death.
POST-MORTEM REPORT AWAITED
SP (Rural) Abhay Singh said an individual named Nafees, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, had informed the Kaliyar police station that his nephew, Atif, had been missing from home since the previous day.
Following a search and identification by his uncle, Abbasi was found hanging from the ceiling fan at the Kazmi Guest House, Singh said.
He added that the body had been sent for a post-mortem examination and that the matter was under investigation.
Police have not yet established the circumstances that led to Abbasi's death. Further action will be taken based on the post-mortem report and the findings of the investigation.
The suspected dispute with his girlfriend remains a reported angle, and the police inquiry is expected to clarify the sequence of events and the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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Inputs by Chandni Qureshi