An attempt to create a viral Instagram reel turned fatal for a young man in Uttar Pradesh. Twenty-one-year-old Shivam Kumar hung upside down from a flag post on the roof of a school as his friends recorded the stunt. He wanted to raise a flag on the pole while hanging upside down, however, the cemented pole failed to bear the weight and collapsed leading to his death.
The incident happened on Thursday evening at a Junior High School in Khairada village in Janpad Banda. Shivam reached the school after picking up his father from the railway station and dropped him home at around 5 PM. His friends, Anu and Ankit, were already waiting for him when he arrived at the school. The trio then climbed the school’s roof, clueless that it would be Shivam’s last Instagram stunt. Soon after they started recording the reel, the pole fell and Shivam got crushed beneath it. He died of his injuries on the spot.
His Instagram feed is filled with several similar stunts where he can be seen hanging upside down from trees and ceilings.
Shivam’s father Vardani, who is grappling with the sudden loss of his son, works as a labourer, while he was employed at a water pouch factory.
Ram Mohan Rai, the officer in charge of Matoundh police station, said that no formal complaint has been lodged by the family yet.