New Delhi, In your quest for salvation, you may have taken steps that surprised people in many cases. One such case has come up in Karnataka. In a shocking incident in Giddaihanapalya village of Madhugiri taluk, a youth committed suicide on Thursday believing he would get “salvation” as depicted in the Telugu horror fantasy movie ‘Arundhati’.
The deceased, 23-year-old Renukaprasad, set himself on fire by sprinkling petrol on the outskirts of the village on Wednesday evening. Some passers-by with the help of some Kannada activists rushed him to the hospital. From where he was referred to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru.
He succumbed to 60 percent burns at the hospital on Thursday. Renukaprasad was a topper in the SSLC examination at a government school in the village of Pradhyara, following which his family members took him to Tumakuru for higher studies.
After clearing first year PUC, his addiction to movies distracted him from his studies. He played ‘Arundhati’ many times, in which the protagonist dies of his own free will and is reborn to take revenge on the enemy.
Expressing regret, Raju, a close relative of the deceased youth and a lecturer, said, “He must have been to ‘Arundhati’ at least 15-20 times and used to get obsessed with some of the horror scenes shown in the film. We wanted him to study well and have a good career.
Unfortunately, his addiction to movies took his life. A video of the victim asking her father Siddappa to be released soon after he committed suicide went viral on social media. Renukaprasad used to wander from place to place, as he was unemployed.
The point of concern is how he managed to buy 20 liters of petrol from a nearby bunk, police said. Of which he used one liter to set himself on fire. Kodigenahalli Police registered an FIR and are investigating the case.SS1MS