UP: Alert cops rush to save 'suicidal' boy, turns out to be prank

Taking note of a social media post, alert police in Uttar Pradesh's Noida rushed to save a schoolboy who posted a "suicide" message only to find that his act was a prank, officials said Friday.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar police commissionerate's social media cell had come across the "suicide video" by a Class 10 student on Instagram and took help from Meta, the parent company of Instagram, to trace the boy's location.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Rajeev Dixit said the incident took place around 1.30 am on April 26. "The local Phase 2 police station was alerted by Gautam Buddh Nagar police headquarters about a boy putting a suicide video. The Meta headquarters helped in tracing the location of the boy," Dixit said.

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"On getting the inputs, the local police immediately reached the spot and found the boy. However, it turned out that the boy, who had posted a video of him consuming the liquid of All Out (mosquito repellent) but in reality he had consumed water which he had filled in an empty All Out vaporizer," the police officer said.

When the police interacted with the boy, he told them he had done this to get more viewers on social media, Dixit said.

As per the rules, the boy was sent for a medical examination and later handed over to his family after counselling, he said.

"His family members have been urged to ensure continued counselling of the boy," he said.

While the incident turned out to be a prank, there have been episodes in the past in which the police have been able to make timely intervention in probable suicide cases on the basis of social media monitoring.

A recent example in Noida was seen on March 18, when the police saved a 20-year-old man who had posted a picture on Instagram that showed a noose along with caption "everything will get over".

In March 2022, UP police entered into agreement with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, on real-time sharing information linked to social media posts related to suicide or self harm.

"If any person posts something related to suicide or self-harm on Facebook or Instagram, then Meta headquarters in USA immediately sends an alert to the social media centre of PHQ UP Police through phone and email," a senior officer told PTI in February, recounting how the agreement has helped save multiple lives.