A 38-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district was rescued by police within minutes after authorities received an automated alert about a suicide-related post he had shared on social media, officials said.
According to Uttar Pradesh Police headquarters, the incident took place on the night of May 21–22 when the man, a resident of the Jaswantnagar area, uploaded an emotional message on Facebook following a prolonged domestic dispute with his wife, indicating he intended to end his life.
At around 12.31 am, Meta sent an automated suicide-risk alert email to the Social Media Centre at the office of the Director General of Police (DGP) in Lucknow.
Following directions from DGP Rajeev Krishna, officials traced the man’s mobile phone location and immediately shared the details with the Etawah Police.
A police team from Jaswantnagar police station reached the man’s house within nine minutes, but discovered he had already left home. Officers launched a search operation and eventually found him walking towards an orchard nearby. The police team then persuaded him to return home safely.
Rahul Srivastava, PRO to the DGP and in-charge of the Uttar Pradesh Police social media cell, said the man later told officers during counselling that prolonged domestic disputes had left him emotionally distressed and hopeless.
He admitted that after uploading the post, he had left home intending to take the extreme step in the orchard area.
Officials said the timely intervention, enabled through Meta’s suicide-risk alert system and rapid coordination between the DGP headquarters and Etawah Police, helped prevent any harm.
