Actress and controversy queen Poonam Pandey has once again found herself in the midst of a legal tussle following her recent publicity stunt of faking her death to raise cancer awareness. According to reports, a defamation case amounting to Rs 100 crore has been filed against Poonam Pandey and Sam Bombay by Faizan Ansari, who lodged a First Information Report (FIR) with the Kanpur Police Commissioner. Ansari alleges that Pandey and Bombay conspired to fabricate her death, trivialising the seriousness of cancer in the process, and manipulating the emotions and trust of millions of people, including the Bollywood industry.
According to the FIR, filed on behalf of Ansari, the defendants deliberately orchestrated the hoax for self-promotion, causing significant distress and deception among the public. The complaint calls for issuing an arrest warrant against the couple and their appearance in the Kanpur court to address the defamation claims. The controversy began when the star's manager dropped a message on her official social media claiming she has passed away at the age of 32 due to cervical cancer. It said, "This morning is a tough one for us. Deeply saddened to inform you that we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer.” While fans continued to speculate if it is true two days later, the star revealed that it was in fact only to spread awareness about cancer.