'If you lie, you’ll die': Dentist suspended after video mocking Pune murder victim sparks outrage
A Madhya Pradesh-based dentist has been suspended for five years by a professional association after a viral Instagram reel showed her laughing and making controversial remarks about Pune businessman Ketan Agrawal, whose alleged murder by his fiancee and her lover has shocked the country.
The video triggered widespread anger online, with many social media users accusing the dentist of mocking a murder victim and trivialising a crime that has left a family devastated.
In the now-viral reel, Dr Muskan Soni appeared to joke about details linked to the murder investigation. Referring to reports that Agrawal wore a hair patch, she said in Hindi, “Kya dekh rai hoon main… Pune ka jo launda tha uske baal hi nahi the... ab aise jhooth bologe toh maroge hi na... (What am I seeing...The Pune boy didn't have hair...If you lie like this, you will die), I hate men.”
She then continued laughing and added, “Do aadmi kya mar gaye, mard samajh mein dar faila hua hai. (Only a couple of men have died, and men everywhere are already living in fear.)”
The comments drew immediate condemnation across social media platforms, with users calling the remarks insensitive, cruel and deeply disrespectful to the victim and his family.
One user wrote that laughing over a murder and reducing a person's death to a joke reflected a disturbing lack of empathy. Others questioned whether such comments would have been made had the victim been a member of her own family.
As criticism intensified, the All India Dental Students and Surgeons Association (AIDSA) announced disciplinary action against Soni. In its order, the association suspended her membership for five years with immediate effect and removed her from the post of Treasurer of AIDSA Madhya Pradesh.
The association said she had engaged in acts of indiscipline and made highly inappropriate, offensive and disrespectful remarks about the late Ketan Agrawal, conduct that was inconsistent with the organisation's ethical standards and code of conduct. It said the decision was taken to preserve the discipline, dignity and integrity of the association.
The controversy comes amid national attention on the Ketan Agrawal murder case.
The 26-year-old Pune businessman was engaged to Siya Goyal and the couple was reportedly scheduled to marry later this year. According to police, Siya was allegedly in a relationship with another man, Chetan Chaudhary, and wanted to back out of the marriage but feared opposition from her family.
Investigators allege that the two then conspired to kill Agrawal. Police claim he was taken to Lohagad Fort near Pune on the pretext of celebrating a birthday and was pushed into a gorge hundreds of feet deep.