Is Poonam Pandey really dead?

This is not the sort of question we’re supposed to ask when a 32-year-old is announced to have died of cervical cancer. But frankly, we were forced into it yesterday when nothing about the situation makes sense.

So, we assumed Pandey is pathetic enough to pretend she was dead for the sake of attention. And, unsurprisingly, we were right.

Meanwhile, the media ran stories upon stories on her death, her so-called legacy, and on cervical cancer. All without independent verification, because if it is on social media, it must be true, right?

Here are the ‘facts’, to use the word loosely.

Yesterday morning, a black-background post popped up on Pandey’s official Instagram handle, saying “we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer”.

Soon after, Pandey’s team announced the “beloved actress and social media personality” had “tragically passed away”. Her manager called her a “luminary” and that her “passing compels us all to recognise the critical need for increased awareness and proactive measures against preventable diseases like cervical cancer”.

Could it be a coincidence that just the day before, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a vaccination drive against cervical cancer? 

Surely a coincidence. No one would be ghoulish enough to fake their death to promote a ‘cause’.

Next up, Pandey’s PR team mysteriously said they’d heard the news from “Poonam’s sister”, who was since “unreachable”. Pandey’s other family members then turned out to be “unreachable” too. An intrepid India Today journalist reported that Pandey’s family members in Uttar Pradesh – where her “funeral” was supposed to be held – were “missing in action”.

“Hence, we are also confused at this moment,” a source close to Pandey said.

So far, so shady. But someone is dead, and we don’t want to be That Guy who calls it a hoax because, quite reasonably, what if we’re wrong?

Next, one Narendra Nath Mishra posted that Pandey’s manager “gave a fake mobile number” when asked for details on Pandey’s death. He called the number and the person on the other end “had not even heard the name of Poonam Pandey”.

Then, of course, we remember that Sunday, February 4, is World Cancer Day – and it all falls into place.

Perhaps Pandey herself realised the gig was up. She posted two Instagram reels this morning because – surprise, surprise! – she’s alive! It was all to create awareness, you guys! That’s a perfectly normal, healthy thing to do.

Long story short: Sad influencer pulls sad stunt, pretends it’s for sad cause? Just another day for Poonam Pandey.

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