On the night of June 20, Shadab (19), who had returned from Bengaluru to his maternal uncle’s wedding in Nagaur village, Bahraich, went missing. His body was later found near a tube well in a guava orchard on June 21, with his throat slit and head bludgeoned - killed for his iPhone .

Within days, police arrested two juveniles, aged 14 and 16, who confessed to plotting the murder four days earlier to obtain a “high-quality mobile phone” to produce reels that would attract more views and likes . They lured Shadab under the pretext of filming videos, then killed him and fled with his iPhone, knife, and brick - all recovered by investigators .

A case under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 238 (concealment of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita has been filed. The minors have been sent to a juvenile reform facility. Authorities are also searching for two adult accomplices mentioned in police reports .

This gruesome crime illustrates the dangerous extremes driven by the pursuit of social media fame.