West Bengal: TikTok star goes missing in Delhi

CHINSURAH: Chandernnagore Police is investigating the disappearance of 25-year-old Pratima Mondal, a regular performer at music, dance and fashion shows in Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar for the last nine months. Mondal has been missing since January 2.


Pratima had uploaded her profile through social media site Vigo and rose to fame through TikTok app , a musical video platform. On the TikTok app, Pratima performed as Jasmine. Her husband, Prasenjit, lodged a missing diary with Chinsurah police on Monday.

"My wife had an aptitude for singing and classical dance. She had undergone training in both. Nine months ago, she registered herself on the TikTok app and uploaded videos of herself singing and dancing. I even encouraged her by buying her a good smart phone for the purpose. Soon, she started getting calls to perform at singing and dance shows in Bihar, Jharkhand and even Delhi. Some of these calls were also for shows that required her to walk the ramp, like in a fashion show. Organisers of these shows paid for her travel, which was mostly by flight and sometimes by train. They would also take care of her stay at Patna, Delhi and other places these shows were held. Within a short time, she had 4,28,000 followers on Vigo. For some months now, my wife has been earning well from her performance at these shows," said Prasenjit, a lottery ticket seller in Chinsurah.

The woman's husband further said: "Just last month, Pratima got a call from a youth in Delhi, who asked her to perform at a show in Delhi on January 2. They sent her a train ticket. She boarded a train from Howrah on December 31. She reached Delhi the next day and I last spoke to her on the morning of January 2. She told me she was to perform at a show in Rajarhat on January 5 and would be back before that date. Since that call, her phone has been switched off. Unable to trace her, I lodged a missing diary on Monday."

Chandernnagore police commissioner Humayun Kabir said: "We are investigating the case. We hope to trace the woman's whereabouts soon."