Home / Crime and Justice / Instagram SOS: UP Police Saves Two Lives from Suicide Alerts
Instagram SOS: UP Police Saves Two Lives from Suicide Alerts
21 Mar
Summary
- UP Police saved two individuals from suicide attempts via Instagram alerts.
- Meta's real-time alerts facilitated rapid police intervention in separate incidents.
- Over 2,200 lives have been saved in UP by acting on social media alerts since 2023.
Uttar Pradesh Police have demonstrated swift action in preventing two suicide attempts that were signaled through Instagram distress videos. On March 19, a 19-year-old woman in Sultanpur and an 18-year-old youth in Kaushambi each uploaded videos indicating imminent self-harm. These critical alerts were detected in real time by Meta Platforms, which then notified the Uttar Pradesh Police's Social Media Centre.
Acting under the directive of DGP Rajeev Krishna, police teams rapidly traced the individuals' locations. In Sultanpur, officers reached the woman within 15 minutes, finding her after she had consumed rat poison. She was stabilized at a local hospital and is reportedly dealing with mental stress from a relationship dispute. In Kaushambi, the youth was intercepted by police within 10 minutes, preventing him from consuming poison, and was counseled.
This initiative, part of an ongoing mechanism between Uttar Pradesh Police and Meta since 2022, has yielded significant results. According to DGP PRO Rahul Srivastava, a total of 2,266 lives have been saved in Uttar Pradesh by responding to similar social media alerts between January 1, 2023, and March 15, 2026.
