ACTOR Poonam Pandey, who hit the headlines in 2011 with her declaration that she would strip if India won the cricket World Cup, died of cervical cancer at the age of 32, her publicist said on Friday but didn’t have details of exactly where and when. Till the end of a day spent trawling websites and contacting people who may have known her, there was no confirmation of the death of the model, influencer and sometime actor known for her bold statements and appearances. As messages poured in, some shocked and others sceptical, #Poonam Pandey trended on X and Instagram.

 

“She passed away last night of cervical cancer at her hometown in UP. She was 32,” her publicist Parul Chawla told PTI, adding that she learnt about the death after Pandey’s sister phoned her. However, she was unsure of which town in UP or the details of Pandey’s family. News of Pandey’s death came a day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Government’s plans to focus on vaccination against cervical cancer for girls aged 9 to 14 as part of her Interim Budget 2024.