On Wednesday, a class 8 kid from Nagpur, Agranya Barapatre (12), was found dead at a neighbour’s home in the Somwari quarters.
According to senior police inspector Dhananjay Patil of the Sakkardara police station, Agranya's death was probably related to a YouTube challenge video, the TOI reported. In the video, a woman is seen demonstrating how she manages to escape after having her hands tied behind her back and her face covered in scarves while having her mouth choked.
The deceased was found hanging from a wooden ladder leading to a neighbour’s terrace with a scarf around his neck but no knot. Agranya's cellphone was found to have the Manya Creations "Full Face Cover Challenge" YouTube video downloaded. The incident was reported as an accidental death by the police, who said that there was no valid reason for the boy to commit suicide.
The distressed mother of Agranya recalled It was usual for Agranya to fly kites on the neighbour’s terrace. On this terrace, Agranya was found hanging from a ladder with a scarf wrapped around his body. However, the family has no idea where the scarf came from. The boy's mother, Reshmi, stated that the scarf was neither in the boy's hand nor did it belong to her family, adding that the family was soon to travel to Tirupati.