Social media influencer K. Reshma, better known to her 2.07 lakh Instagram followers as 'Chinnu Papu', allegedly died by suicide in Kerala's Kasaragod district.
The 24-year-old Adoor native, who had been living in a rented flat in the Uliyathadka area of Kasaragod, was confirmed dead by the time her body was rushed to the hospital, an Onmanorama report said.
Reshma's body had been found hanging in her room before she was rushed to the hospital, the details of which were communicated to her family at about 2.
A police probe has been launched into the alleged suicide case after her two brothers also urged the police for an impartial probe into the unnatural death. The investigation first aims to find out whether her divorce with a person named Prajula following a five-year marriage—which took place a month ago and left her with a four-year-old son—played a part in the hanging.
At the time of the incident, the child was at her parents' house, as she usually kept him there when travelling for video shoots.
The police are also yet to rule out foul play in Reshma's death. In that regard, her father Gangadharan, a commercial jeep driver, said Reshma had been deeply distressed following the divorce, "but she made a conscious effort not to show it outwardly".
"She would keep everything to herself and rarely shared her problems with us,” he added.
The 24-year-old influencer was known for her cheerful, quirky personality, seen in her videos on local food and events, all spoken in the iconic Kasaragod accent, and her death has come as a major shock to her family and the lakhs of followers she had amassed.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 AM to 10 PM.)