Kamal Ghorui
GHAZIABAD: Bigg Boss 17 contestant and YouTuber Anurag Dobhal (28) – popularly known as ‘UK07 Rider’ – is in a critical condition after his Toyota Fortuner crashed into a divider on Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) near Dasna on Saturday night. The crash occurred while Dobhal was live on Instagram, with more than 80,000 people watching as he appeared distressed, spoke about feeling alone and overwhelmed, and referred to a “final drive”.In the livestream, Dobhal addressed his mother and said, “When I return in the next birth, please give me love.” A Hindi song, “jisko jo bhi milta hai’, could be heard playing in the background.Moments before the impact, Dobhal turned the camera towards the windscreen and speedometer as the SUV accelerated. The Fortuner suddenly veered towards the median and struck the barrier with massive force.Surendra Nath Tiwari, DCP (rural), said police received information about the incident around 10.20pm. “He was headed towards Delhi from the Meerut side when his SUV crashed near Hawa Hawai restaurant, hit the divider and jumped into the other lane. The car flipped several times,” he added.The crash was so severe that the vehicle was mangled and its wheels came off. “We suspect he was cruising at nearly 150-160kmph,” the DCP added.Police are trying to find out if Dobhal attempted suicide. “We suspect he deliberately turned the vehicle towards the divider to cause self-harm,” Tiwari said. By the time police learnt of the crash, Dobhal’s friends had already moved him to a hospital. “We received information on the emergency helpline 112 from his friends.”One of Dobhal’s followers, Ashish Chaudhary of Mehrauli in Ghaziabad, was among the first to reach the spot. Chaudhary said he had been following Dobhal for long and was watching the livestream when the crash occurred. “As soon as I saw the crash live, I rushed to the spot with my friends. Some passersby were already trying to rescue him. We pulled him out of the mangled car and took him to Subharti Hospital in Meerut. That was the nearest,” he said.On Sunday morning, the YouTuber was referred to a private hospital in Delhi after his condition deteriorated.Tiwari said a team had been formed to investigate the sequence of events and examine Dobhal’s recent social media posts. Till late on Sunday evening, his family hadn’t lodged any complaint. Police said they would question him once his condition was stable. Dobhal, who grew up in Uttarakhand, built a massive following by blending travel, lifestyle and biking content. Known for his energetic on-camera style, he built a fan community, “Brosena”. His YouTube channel has nearly 8 million subscribers and his Instagram account about 7.6 million followers.He frequently featured his family in videos, including his wife Ritika Chauhan, mother Chandrakala, father Jagdamba and brother Atul, also known as Kamal Ink.In the days leading up to the crash, Dobhal had posted content that alarmed his followers. On March 4, he uploaded a nearly two-hour YouTube vlog that he described as his “last video”, saying it was recorded in “deep mental distress” and after “five days without food”. He accused his parents, brother and his brother’s girlfriend Shreya of ruining his life over his inter-caste marriage – Dobhal from a Brahmin family and Ritika with Rajput roots – and suggested he had been pushed towards “self-harm”.
