Investigators in Sharjah are piecing together how an online quarrel between TikTok users spilled into the streets and left a 40-year-old Indian man dead from stab wounds on May 31.
The victim, Ismail Ponnan Ibrahim Kutty, was a Kerala native employed at a bakery in Dubai and a frequent presence on social media, particularly TikTok. According to Gulf News, his death certificate — a copy of which the outlet reviewed — attributed his death to an assault with a sharp object that triggered bleeding severe enough to cause hypovolaemic shock.
The confrontation that killed him grew out of a heated exchange he had with other content creators during a live TikTok broadcast, his followers said. As the dispute escalated online, the two sides reportedly dared one another to settle their differences face to face. Ismail is said to have told the men to meet him near a park in Al Nahda.
What followed unfolded in front of a crowd. Several individuals allegedly closed in on Ismail and turned on him, beating and stabbing him with assorted sharp weapons while bystanders looked on. Witnesses called police and emergency services as the violence played out in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Ismail was taken to Al Qassimi Hospital at roughly 8am. He did not survive, and medical staff pronounced him dead by 8.45am.
Sharjah Police confirmed the killing to Gulf News on Wednesday, stating that several people have been taken into custody over the attack. Authorities said their inquiry into exactly how the events transpired has not concluded.
