April Fool Prank Turns Fatal After Student Accidentally Hangs Self While Faking Suicide

An April Fool’s Day prank turned into a tragedy after an 18-year-old student allegedly lost his life while pretending to commit suicide by hanging during a video call to a friend in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at the victim’s residence here on Monday and he was identified as Abhishek Raghuvanshi, reported news agency, PTI.

April 1 is celebrated as an April Fool’s Day with people playing tricks on their friends, family and colleagues.

“Raghuvanshi made a video call to one of his friends on Monday with a noose around his neck in order to fool him by faking his suicide. But during this prank, the stool on which he was standing accidentally slipped and he started hanging in the air with the noose tightened around his neck, leading to his death,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia said.

Raghuvanshi was the son of the driver of a sub divisional magistrate (SDM), he said. The site of the incident has been sealed and post-mortem of the student is being conducted, Dandotia added. Raghuvanshi’s death is being investigated from all angles, the official said.

Earlier, a 36-year-old man admitted in the Government Medical College allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of the building, an official of the college said.

Sanju, an alcoholic, was admitted to the hospital on March 19 for a head injury that he had sustained earlier in an inebriated state, Dr NC Prajapati, Principal of the Government Medical College said.

On Thursday night, Sanju, a native of Manpur Nagaria village in Kasganj district, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly jumped from the window of his fourth floor ward, Prajapati said. He died while he was being rushed to the emergency room, he said.

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(with inputs from PTI)