A 21-year-old woman, distressed by her family's pressure to marry, posted a concerning message on Instagram that hinted at a possible suicide. Fortunately, her post alerted Meta, which led to a swift response from the police, officials said on Wednesday.
The woman, a final-year undergraduate student from Devanandpur Nai Basti, posted a photo of capsules on Instagram along with a message that read: "Goodbye, sorry mamma papa," at 7.42 pm on June 16.
The post triggered an immediate alert from Meta to Uttar Pradesh Police's Social Media Centre in Lucknow.
The alert was escalated to the state Director General of Police (DGP), Rajeev Krishna, who instructed officers to trace the woman's location using the phone number associated with her account.
Within eight minutes of receiving the alert, a police team from the Mill Area Police Station reached the woman's house and found her safe but emotionally disturbed.
She was given immediate counselling and medical attention, and the police also spoke to her family.
"The young woman wanted to focus on her education, but her parents were pressuring her to get married. Distressed over this, she made the post. Fortunately, we received the alert in time and were able to intervene. Both she and her family have now agreed to resolve the matter peacefully," Mill Area SHO Rajeev Singh said.
In a similar incident in the Deoria district recently, a 20-year-old student was saved after he posted a distressing suicide note and a picture on Instagram.
On June 12, the man from the Bhalauni area shared a message in Hindi saying, "Forgive me, brothers, today I'm going to die," along with a photo showing a noose around his neck.
The post triggered an alert from Meta at 3.44 pm to the UP Police Social Media Centre in Lucknow. The alert was relayed to the Deoria district police with the individual's location details.
A police sub-inspector from Bhalauni reached the student's home within 12 minutes, found him attempting to hang himself, and managed to rescue him in the nick of time.
The student later explained that he was under stress due to a bank loan taken by his parents that they were unable to repay. A recent notice and a heated exchange over the matter left him feeling deeply guilty, pushing him toward the drastic step.
After counselling, the student assured the police he would not repeat such an act, officials said.
Between January 1, 2023, and June 16, 2025, the collaboration between Meta and the UP Police helped save 1,024 lives throughout the state by responding to social media alerts, the police said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
| Helplines | |
|---|---|
| Vandrevala Foundation for Mental Health | 9999666555 or help@vandrevalafoundation.com |
| TISS iCall | 022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday: 8 am to 10 pm) |
| (If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.) | |
