Queer influencer Mad Sandhu killed in what cops say may have been ‘planned attack’
Mad Sandhu (Instagram/its_madsandhuofficial)
Queer Punjabi makeup artist and influencer Mad Sandhu has been shot dead in Amritsar, India, with police investigating the killing and saying it may have been a planned attack.
Sandhu – full name Madhusudan Sandhu – was killed on Saturday (3 October), as reported by NDTV. The social media star was shot around 6pm while he was waiting outside a car wash for his own vehicle, after two men, who have not been identified as of yet, on a motorcycle allegedly opened fire before fleeing the scene.
Sandhu sadly died while being taken to a private hospital.
Police are now looking at CCTV footage and forensic evidence, and investigators recovered two empty bullet casings from the scene.
What police say about the shooting
Amritsar Police Commissioner Harmanbir Singh Gill said initial enquiries indicated Sandhu had been followed before the shooting.
Prabhjot Singh Virk said: “We have leads and will solve the case soon. We have recorded the family’s statement.”
After Sandhu was killed, posts circulated online claiming a gang had taken responsibility for the murder, but police dismissed the claims. Gill said: “These so-called posts are unauthentic and uploaded by foreign-based persons.”
A separate account reported Sandhu was found seriously injured on Loharka Road and taken to a private hospital for treatment, where he later died from his injuries. A video reportedly recorded just after the attack circulated on social media, showing him on the roadside as members of the public tried to help.
Who was Mad Sandhu?
Sandhu was an out queer beauty creator known for makeup looks, fashion and self-expression, part of a growing cohort of South Asian LGBTQ+ influencers whose visibility can bring both support and targeted harassment.
He had more than 226,000 followers on Instagram. Mad Sandhu said he had faced homophobic trolling online and was known for responding: “God has made me the way I am.”
In 2023, an Indian makeup artist died by suspected suicide at 16 after relentless online attacks, after an activist group called on Meta to crack down on cyberbullying.
