“Dead or Alive? Mystery Hand Hanging from Car Boot Stuns Navi Mumbai Locals”

A viral video depicting a hand hanging from a trunk of a car in Navi Mumbai created panic among transporters. Police arrested four young men, who later admitted it was an ad promotion for a laptop company.

Mumbai | Apr 17, 2025 — A usual Monday evening trip home became an evening of pandemonium and confusion in Navi Mumbai following a commuter claim that he sighted a hand protruding out of the boot of a car in motion. The eerie visual, seen midway between Vashi and Sanpada railway stations, raised a specter of kidnapping — bringing into action speedily the Sanpada Police.

The complaint was received around 6:30 PM on Monday, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajay Landge. The tip-off triggered a two-hour-long search operation, with police squads scouring the area for the suspicious car. The car was later found outside Haware Fantasia Mall, opposite Sanpada railway station.

But what began as a serious crime turned out to be a weird publicity stunt.

The probe found that the scene was created for a promotional video by four young men, who were subsequently taken into custody for questioning. The accused included Minhaj Sheikh (25), Shahwar Sheikh (24), and Inzamam Sheikh (25) — all from Koparkhairane — and Mohammed Sheikh (30) from Mira Road.

The group had borrowed the multi-utility vehicle (MUV) from one of their Mumbai Sakinaka friends and had apparently come to Navi Mumbai to witness a wedding. During this visit, they had shot the promotional video to promote a laptop brand, the police say. One of the accused has a laptop retail outlet in the same mall where the car was recovered.

The dramatized clip — now posted on social media site X (formerly Twitter) — depicts one of the teenagers, Minhaj Sheikh, behind the wheel with his cousin lying in the trunk with an arm protruding. The intention was to be suspenseful and startling, imitating a crime scene. Two others trailed the vehicle on a motorcycle, filming the scene for social media.

At the conclusion of the video, the “victim” emerges out of the trunk, smiling happily and proclaiming, “I am still alive,” before urging viewers to pay a visit to their laptop outlet for branded bargains.

The police, as much as they confirmed that there was no criminal intent, issued a warning to the youths regarding such irresponsible behavior. “Inciting public panic, even unintentionally, is a serious offence,” ACP Landge noted.

The stunt has prompted debates over the growing extremes social media influencers are taking to go viral — regularly walking the thin line between creativity and public annoyance.