Thane, April 15 -- Four people have been detained by Navi Mumbai Police for staging a fake crime scene to create sensational social media content, officials said Tuesday.

The stunt involved a white car parked in Sanpada on Monday night with a human hand visibly sticking out of its trunk. The alarming scene, captured in a viral video and photo, led a concerned citizen to alert the police, fearing a possible abduction or murder.

Police swiftly traced the vehicle and detained the driver along with three others. One of the accused owns a laptop shop in Koparkhairne and admitted that the act was staged to create a reel promoting his business.

"They confessed it was a dramatized shoot aimed at drawing social media attention," a crime branch ...