Siya Kakkar, TikTok Star, Dead by Suicide at 16

Teen TikTok star Siya Kakkar has died at the age of 16 of a suspected suicide. According to multiple Indian news outlets, and as reported by the Mirror, Kakkar reportedly died of suspected suicide on June 25. News of her death was first confirmed by her manager, Arjun Sarin, who suggested that the young star may have been struggling with personal issues in private.

According to Sarin, the 16-year-old had been “doing well” professionally. He added that “this must be due to something personal.” Sarin said explained that the teen had “sounded normal” when they had spoken just a night before her death about an upcoming project. Sarin added that “me and my company Fame Experts manage lots of artists and Siya was a bright talent.” Sarin paid his respects to Kakkar on Instagram.

Bollywood photographer Viral Bhayani also confirmed the news on Instagram. Sharing a photo of the teen, Bhayani wrote that Sarin had told him that Kakkar “was in a good mood and perfectly alright” during their last conversation. According to Bhayani, that conversation had been about a song collaboration. Bhayani wrote that not even Sarin had a “clue what went wrong that she had to go this way” and that by looking through her videos, you could see that “she was so good in her content.”

Kakkar lived in Preet Vihar, New Delhi, where many of her viral videos were based. At just 16, she had amassed a massive following across social media platforms, including on TikTok, where her dance video garnered her a following of more than one million people. She had nearly 150,000 followers on Instagram. Her last social media posts had come on Wednesday, when she shared a video to TikTok and, at around the same time, posted a dance video to Instagram.

At this time, an official cause of death has not been announced. The Tribune India reports that the teen’s family has requested a detailed police investigation into her death.

If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.