Influencer Iffy Khan pretends to be hit by train in viral 'suicide' video after lover rejects him
An influencer was arrested for faking his own death by suicide in a disturbing YouTube stunt after being "jilted in love." The Indian YouTuber identified as Irfan Khan was arrested for filming a sickening video where he pretended to be hit by a train after he was allegedly rejected by his "lover".
The shocking stunt comes amidst a spate of influencer deaths around the world, with Chinese TikTok star Xiao Qiumei recently falling 160 feet to the ground while filming a dance live stream on a crane she was operating. Qiumei's death followed that of Sofia Cheung who died while taking a selfie at a waterfall as she fell 16 feet in front of the Tsing Dai stream near Yuen Long, Hong Kong. More recently, 22-year-old influencer Julia Hennessy also died after a crash during a road trip, which left her husband in critical condition. In Khan's case, the influencer is safe, although awaiting the court's verdict for what he claims was a video series taken out of context.
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Who is Irfan Khan?
Known popularly on YouTube as Iffy Khan, the 28-year-old vlogger from India recently drew massive flak and was booked for the fake suicide video he shared online. The video opens with Khan sitting on a train track while speaking on the phone to a person he dubs his "lover". Special effects and editing tricks are used to show Khan then jumping in front of a train, "committing suicide". Khan subsequently shared this video on his Instagram account. Shortly after, he gained over 44,000 followers on the platform as his video started going viral on Twitter.
But it wasn't just the general public who came across Khan's video as the police spotted it on Twitter soon enough. Khan was then charged for committing an act to endanger the lives of others as well as himself, along with 'disobedience of order'. Among Khan's other listed offences was publishing or circulating statements containing a rumor or alarming news (with the intent to incite or commit offense). In addition, under the Indian Railways Act, he was charged for nuisance and trespassing. In an interview with Vice World News, Khan however claims the video was a mistake and his intention was "never bad or to encourage people to [die by] suicide."
The video didn't just draw backlash for Khan's irresponsible stunts; his relatives allegedly also believed that Khan had died after jumping in front of the train. This prompted Khan to delete the video, as he told Vice News: “People took it the wrong way and thought I was encouraging people to [die by] suicide if a girl rejects them." Khan further explained that the video wasn't a one-off, but instead part of a series where further events would allegedly turn out to be motivational.
"But actually, this was only part one of a video series I was making. In the second part, I would wake up from my dream and see my parents’ faces, and the message was meant to be motivational and tell people not to [die by] suicide," explained Khan, who has since issued a public apology while awaiting a verdict on his case.