Poonam Pandey, the controversial actress, recently staged a death claiming to have died of cervical cancer as part of her plan to raise awareness about the disease. On February 2, it was announced on her Instagram account that she had died of cervical cancer. But later, the truth unfolded, showing the whole episode as an elaborate publicity gimmick.

The message that dropped in the Instagram post was sombre: “This morning is tough on us." It is with much regret that I have to announce, with a heavy heart and lots of questions surrounding this topic, that we lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer.”

Yesterday, February 3, Poonam replied to the controversy in a video where she confirms her state of health and explains the fake death as a means of starting a dialogue on the topic of cervical cancer.

In the video statement, Poonam asserted, “I am alive. I didn’t die of cervical cancer. Sadly, I cannot say so about those lakhs and thousands of women who have lost lives because of cervical cancer.” The actress, never shy from courting controversies, may face the music for her act, which could well attract a fine that ranges reportedly between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 100 lakh and imprisonment up to five years, as per some unconfirmed reports. After it was revealed that her death had been faked, social media users voiced their anger and wanted her arrested and punished for the misleading stunt.

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A post shared by Poonam Pandey (@poonampandeyreal)

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A post shared by Poonam Pandey (@poonampandeyreal)