TikToker Sumeera Rajput murder case: Police arrest two suspects

Police in Ghotki district of Sindh have arrested two men accused of poisoning a popular TikTok content creator, officials confirmed on Saturday.

Sumeera Rajput, who had amassed over 58,000 followers and more than a million likes on TikTok, was found dead in her home in the Bago Wah area on Friday afternoon, according to Ghotki Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Anwar Khetran.

Police have taken Babu Rajput and Muhammad Imran into custody on suspicion of poisoning the 22-year-old and have registered a case based on a complaint filed by the victim’s sister.

"A post-mortem examination confirmed that Sumeera Rajput died due to poisoning," SSP Khetran stated. "The investigation is ongoing."

Her death marks the third fatal incident involving female TikTokers in Pakistan within the past two months.

On July 11, a man in Rawalpindi shot and killed his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. Just weeks earlier, on June 2, 17-year-old Sana Yousaf was fatally shot in Islamabad by fellow content creator Umar Hayat, 22, after she rejected his repeated advances. Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said the suspect had harassed her for months.

Sana, originally from the northern region of Chitral, was known for promoting local music and traditional dress, and was also an advocate for girls’ education. Hours before her death, she had posted a birthday celebration photo with friends.

While platforms like TikTok offer women a rare avenue for both expression and income in Pakistan—where less than a quarter of women participate in the formal economy—many still face significant barriers. Only 30% of Pakistani women own smartphones, compared to 58% of men, the widest gender gap globally, according to the 2025 Mobile Gender Gap Report.

Online visibility has also made many women targets. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority has frequently threatened to ban TikTok over what it describes as "immoral content."

In another tragic case earlier this year, a man in Balochistan confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter, claiming her TikTok videos had brought dishonor to the family.