Jharkhand Man Burns Rs 10 Lakh Home Studio After Failing To Gain Followers, Family Screams For Help

In Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, the pressure of online fame seems to have pushed a young man to a breaking point. A 27-year-old YouTuber, Vidhayak Prajapati, allegedly set his home studio on fire on Saturday night, February 7.

According to a report in NDTV, he used to run a film editing and digital work setup from his house. As per his neighbours, he had even sold ancestral land to build a modern studio in the hope of finding success on YouTube.

Jharkhand YouTuber Burns Studio After Failing To Get Followers

But despite months of effort, he reportedly struggled to grow his channel and gain recognition. Over time, this began affecting his mental health. People in the locality said he had become withdrawn in the days leading up to the incident.

Around

10 PM on Saturday, he locked himself inside the studio and set it on fire. As thick smoke filled the house, his family got trapped behind an iron door that was locked from the inside.

Neighbours And Police Rush To Rescue

Hearing the family’s cries for help, neighbours alerted the Meral police. As per the report, officers arrived at the scene and had to break through a side wall to enter the house and rescue those trapped inside.

Thankfully, the family survived. But the fire destroyed expensive equipment that included computers, cameras, sound systems and lighting gear. The total loss is estimated to be over Rs 10 lakh.

“He was a hardworking young man, but he was mentally broken by the pressure to succeed,” said neighbour and former village head Prakash Kumar Arun as quoted by NDTV.

During the chaos, Prajapati reportedly jumped over a back wall and fled. He was later found by relatives on Sunday morning, February 8, and has since been taken to Ranchi for psychiatric treatment.

His family is now facing a serious financial crisis and has appealed to the local administration for support.

When Content Turns Risky

In November last year, Dmitry Nuyanzin, a 30-year-old fitness coach and influencer from Orenburg in Russia, had taken up an extreme eating challenge for social media.

As part of an online “marathon,” he began consuming huge amounts of junk food daily. Reports suggest he was eating nearly 10,000 kilocalories a day. He regularly posted updates about what he ate, how much he weighed and how his body was reacting, all for his followers.

After weeks of following this routine, Dmitry reportedly died in his sleep. Local media stated that heart failure was the cause.