‘Fans will kill me’: Kumar Sanu delusion drives Bhopal man to two suicide bids; listening to another singer sparks breakdown

JABALPUR: What began as harmless fandom turned into a chilling fight for survival. A 30-year-old man's lifelong devotion to playback legend Kumar Sanu spiralled into a frightening delusion after he began listening to another singer. Consumed by the irrational belief that Sanu's fans would kill him for this "betrayal", the man was gripped by such intense fear that he attempted suicide twice within a matter of hours.

The man tried to die by suicide twice within hours - first at Jabalpur railway station and then by jumping from the first floor of a govt hospital, where he was rushed for treatment. He survived and is now out of danger.


GRP Jabalpur police station in-charge Sanjeevani Rajput said the youth, a native of Chhapra in Bihar who was living and working in Nagpur, was travelling to his hometown with his brother-in-law. On reaching Jabalpur on Saturday morning, he went into a public toilet at the station and slit his wrist and throat. When he failed to come out, his relative alerted the police, and he was taken to the medical college hospital.

Even there, while being wheeled for surgery, he allegedly jumped from the first floor, suffering injuries to his lower body. During questioning, the man told police that he stopped singing and listening to Kumar Sanu songs and began using another singer's tracks on social media reels, fuelling his belief that Kumar Sanu's fans would hunt him down and kill him. "And it was out of this fear that he attempted suicide," Rajput told TOI.

She added, "His relative, who was accompanying the youth, said that while travelling from Nagpur to Chhapra, he tried to escape at several stations. In a state of fear, he wanted to go to his hometown, so the relative was escorting him to Chhapra."

Police said the youth was trying to get off and run away at several stations during the journey, indicating growing distress. Doctors said his condition is stable, while authorities emphasised the need for sustained psychiatric care to prevent a relapse.

Explaining the mental state behind the episode, consultant psychiatrist Dr Satyakant Trivedi told TOI, "This condition is called psychosis and its core feature is delusions - false, firm, unshakeable beliefs. Fear is our basic survival emotion, but in such patients, increased dopamine levels make the belief system rigid.

"It becomes so real that evidence doesn't convince them. Even if told that fans of a singer don't kill anyone, the patient won't believe it."

He warned that without treatment, the risk of repeating extreme steps increases 4 to 5 times.

"The person is acting out of a delusion and needs medical, psychological and family support for at least 2 to 3 months. Such traits are seen in around 1% of the population," he added.