Mumbai, Feb 2 (IANS) The controversial model-cum-actress Poonam Pandey succumbed to cancer at 32, her media team said here on Friday.
“This morning is a tough one for us. Deeply saddened to inform you that we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer.
“Every living form that ever came in contact with her was met with pure love and kindness.
“In this time of grief, we would request for privacy, while we remember her fondly for all that we shared,” said a statement today.
No details of Pandey’s passing, where and when, or whether any of her family members were present, are provided in the message.
She was seen in Bigg Boss (2011), and then made her Bollywood debut in 2013 with the film “Nasha”, “GST – Galti Sirf Tumhari” (2017), and a few other films and television serials.
In 2011, she grabbed headlines by promising to strip for the Indian cricket team if it bagged the Cricket World Cup that year, and similar such daredevilry on various occasions.
The ‘demise’ of reality TV actress and model Poonam Pandey has left the industry both shocked and befuddled because her family has gone incommunicado and not revealing details of her last rites or mortal remains.
As Friday went by, reports of Pandey’s death gave way to speculation. Her last Instagram post, before the one on Friday announcing her death, was a video of her attending an event in Goa. She looked healthy and showed no signs of any physical weakness or mental distress.
Many users on the Net questioned Pandey’s whereabouts. Her bodyguard, Amin Khan, told the media that he has been left shocked by the news. He shared that he had tried to contact her sister but got no response from her. Khan also divulged that Pandey’s family home in Kanpur is locked.
He said he got to know about Pandey’s death from the media and he did not believe the news. He told the media that she always looked fit and fine and never shared anything about her health.
A video of the actress in which she claimed to be bringing along a piece of “big news” has also surfaced on the Internet.
She said in the video, “Aapke saamne ek itna bada news aane wala hai. Mujhe bahut accha lagta hai logon ko surprise karna.
“Jab wo samajhte hain ki yeh sudhar rahi hai, tab mujhe surprise karna aur bhi accha lagta hai. Toh ek bahut hi bada news aapke saamne aane wala hai (I will share a big news soon. I like to surprise people, especially when people think I am changing, I like to surprise them even more. So, I am going to share some big news soon).”
On Friday, when IANS went to her housing society, The Park in the Oshiwara area of Mumbai, people in the neighbourhood said the actress hasn’t been at her home for the last two days and no movement has been seen in it.
Throughout the day, there has been no sign of any activity inside or outside her building. A security guard at the housing society told IANS, “She hasn’t been home for two days. Her driver last went out of the building around 3:45 p.m. today (Friday).”
Reports from Pune also suggest that there is no movement in or around her home in that city. It was then rumoured that she had gone to Kanpur where she passed away.
Pandey’s publicist isn’t answering phone calls after issuing the statement that she received the information about the death of the actress from a relative of hers.
