Tanay Sukumar, May 1, 2010

This story originally mentioned an SMS instead of a WhatsApp message. It was edited in 2018.

The 20-year-old college student who was found dead last weekend in Vasant Kunj, Delhi, did not die of a road accident, as thought of earlier. The autopsy report has found that the youth died because he had not forwarded a WhatsApp message to seven friends about a month ago.

The student, Varun Gehlot, was found dead early morning on Sunday. Initial reports had suggested an attack from a raging bull, while some speculations said that a speedy car killed him. The police, however, ruled out the possibility of any road accident since no evidence could be found.

“During investigation into the phone records of Varun Gehlot, we found a WhatsApp message he had received from a friend on April 2,” the autopsy report said. “The message said: ‘Tomorrow is the birthday of Sai Baba. Fwd this message to seven people otherwise you will die within one month.’ But he sent it to only one person and therefore met his death.”

Meanwhile, Varun’s father and sister, who also received a similar message on WhatsApp earlier this week, have anxiously started forwarding it to as many people as they can. His brother and relatives who didn’t receive any such message are typing it out.