New Delhi: As social media remains transfixed by a video of a young man shooting himself while attempting to film a reel, in a corner of East Delhi, a family is grappling with a sudden loss.
In the narrow lanes of Dallupura village in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, one stretch remains in pin-drop silence. A left turn leads to a grim scene—men of all ages, family, friends and neighbours, sit together, smoking hookahs. Faces down, barely a word exchanged. The grief is raw—they have just returned from the cremation.
Pawan Kumar, 28, died on Monday after allegedly shooting himself in the chest while his cousin filmed him holding a licensed pistol.
“Pawan was a lover of horses. That’s the first thing I think of,” says Yogender Singh, the victim’s neighbour. “Just fifteen minutes before the incident, he was standing here on his beloved horse, Raju. Now Raju is tied up in the backyard.”
Kumar lived with his wife, parents, grandmother, and two children, both under five years of age. He was the only child in the family and worked as a property dealer. Residents said he was a healthy, happy man who was doing well in life, earning more than Rs 2 lakh each month from his business.
“He was the only child, the only earner in the family. His father is often unwell, and this has hit him very hard. His children are very young. What will they do now?” Singh said.
The immediate family did not wish to speak to the media.
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Victim’s cousin arrested
Locals say this was the first time Kumar had tried to make a reel. “It wasn’t something he did,” one neighbour said, adding that the attempt turned fatal within moments.
A 19-second-video of the incident, which has since circulated on social media, shows Kumar appearing unfamiliar with the weapon, while the person recording, identified as his cousin Himanshu Kumar—can be heard guiding him on how to operate it. In the clip, a voice is heard saying, “chalana mat bhai,” moments before Kumar, smiling, places the gun against his chest and the weapon goes off.
Kumar was taken to Dharamshila Hospital in Vasundhara Enclave with a gunshot wound but was declared dead upon arrival.
The body was sent to LBS Hospital for post-mortem.
Police said that the firearm used in the incident belonged to Himanshu, the victim’s cousin, in whose name the licence had recently been issued. The weapon, along with 10 live cartridges, has been seized, and the mobile phone containing the video has been taken into custody.
Himanshu, 22, has also been arrested. “The thing that is bothering me the most is how a pistol licence was given to someone so young,” Singh said.
Preliminary inquiry suggests the gunshot injury was self-inflicted.
A case has been registered against Himanshu under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Arms Act at New Ashok Nagar police station.
“Investigation is still ongoing. The crime scene has been visited, and forensic evidence and data have been collected,” an Additional DCP (East Delhi) told ThePrint.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)