Poonam Pandey and her husband Sam Bombay are facing a defamation case amounting to ₹100 crore due to their involvement in a fake death stunt. According to a report from Times of India, the case alleges that Pandey and Bombay trivialized a serious illness and propagated a “false conspiracy of death.”
For the unversed, earlier this month, Pandey’s team declared her demise from cervical cancer. However, there was no official verification of the reported death. The very next day on February 3rd, Poonam Pandey surfaced in a video on her social media platforms, affirming her existence and expressing a desire to raise awareness about cervical cancer.
Sharing a video of herself Poonam wrote, “I feel compelled to share something significant with you all – I am here, alive. Cervical Cancer didn’t claim me, but tragically, it has claimed the lives of thousands of women who stemmed from a lack of knowledge on how to tackle this disease…..”
Following the incident, there was a widespread backlash on social media, with both celebrities and the general public condemning the hoax as “ridiculous” and “disgraceful.” Notable figures such as Aly Goni, Prince Narula, Bipasha Basu, and Pooja Bhatt expressed their criticism.
Additionally, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) called for legal action against Pandey, accusing her of manipulating the emotions of the Indian populace. Maharashtra MLC Satyajeet Tambe also urged the Mumbai Police to take appropriate measures against Poonam.
Subsequently, the media company Schbang, which was involved in the fake death stunt, issued an apology. However, it maintained that the campaign had achieved significant outcomes. According to the TOI report, the ₹100 crore defamation lawsuit alleges that Pandey “orchestrated” the stunt for personal publicity and “betrayed the trust of millions of Indians.”
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