Agency behind Poonam Pandey's 'death' stunt apologises

After Poonam Pandey's fake death stunt to promote "cervical cancer awareness" drew flak online, digital agency Schbang admitted their involvement in the "initiative".

"Yes, we were involved in the initiative for Poonam Pandey to spread awareness about Cervical Cancer in collaboration with Hauterfly. To start off, we would like to extend a heartfelt apology - especially towards those who have been triggered as a result of having faced/having a loved one face the hardships of any kind of Cancer," a statement posted on the agency's social media read.

They said that their only motive was to "elevate awareness about Cervical Cancer," which is the second-most frequent malignancy that affects middle-aged women, after breast cancer.

The company revealed that the model's mother had battled cancer in the past which gives Poonam an understanding of the "importance of prevention and the criticality of awareness, especially when a vaccine is available."

Schbang noted that despite the fact that cervical cancer founds its mention in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's speech during the Interim Budget, there was no change in people's curiosity on the issue.

The finance minister announced during her Budget speech on Thursday that the Centre has planned to encourage cervical cancer vaccination for girls in the age group of nine to 14 years.

However, it was only after Poonam's actions that the word 'Cervical Cancer' has made it to over 1,000 headlines and became one of the most searched topics on Google.

Schbang went on to apologise for the "distress" caused and clarified that this activity was pro-bono and wasn't linked to any client. Following this was a bunch of screenshots that the agency attached showing the support that their initiative received online.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra legislator Satyajeet Tambe on Saturday demanded that Mumbai police take action against model-actor Poonam Pandey for putting out fake news of her death. A case should be registered against Pandey to make an example of her for those who resort to such stunts to promote themselves, said Tambe, an independent member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.