A 22-year-old man from Hoskote ended his life on Thursday after posting a video on TikTok requesting viewers to take care of his mother upon his death. According to the Hoskote Police, Kiran Yadav, a resident of the town’s Kambalipura area, had rented a room at Srinivas Lodge, located right next to the police station, where he shot the TikTok video before ending his life.

“In the video, Kiran says that his viewers are like his brothers and sisters and that his last request was that his mother be taken care of after he passes away. He says it is his last TikTok video and that he cannot state why he was taking the drastic step,” Hoskote Police told TNM.

Investigating officers, who interviewed Kiran’s family and friends say that the youth had dreams of becoming an actor in the Kannada film industry and had been trying to get offers for acting and also to get into Kannada reality shows for the last two years.

“In 2018, he had tried to get selected for a reality show after which he thought opportunities would open up for him to get into acting. But he did not make it into this reality show according to his family,” the investigating officer said.

Earlier this year, unidentified men had allegedly approached Kiran and had assured him an opportunity to be a part of the reality show’s upcoming segment. Investigators say that Kiran had paid the middlemen Rs 1 lakh for a guaranteed spot in the reality show. In July this year, the middlemen had allegedly informed Kiran that he was to be a part of the reality show. However, over a week ago, the men allegedly told Kiran that they could not get him on to the show.

“Kiran’s family told us that he had been preparing for the show for two years and that he had got his hopes up in July when he got confirmation from these middle men. We are trying to find out who they are currently. His family says that he was very upset that he had not got selected despite paying Rs 1 lakh. The middlemen allegedly told Kiran that they would return his money in a week’s time,” the investigators added.

A case of suicide has been registered at the Hoskote Police Station. Investigators say that after identifying and questioning the middlemen, they will take a call on whether these men have to be booked for abatement to suicide.

If you or anyone you know is feeling depressed or suicidal, consider reaching out to one of the following helplines:

Tamil Nadu:

State health department suicide helpline number - 104

Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050

Telangana:  

Telangana government suicide prevention toll free number - 104 

Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001

SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)

Karnataka:

Sahai : 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222

Kerala:

Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530

Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161

Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.

Andhra Pradesh: 

Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930 

Roshni - 

Helpline 1: 9166202000 

Helpline 2: 9127848584