‘Aura farming' goes awry, FIR against 2 men for allowing bonnet stunt on Mercedez in Navi Mumbai

The Navi Mumbai police have registered a case against two 24-year-old men for allowing a woman to perform ‘aura farming', a new global craze among youngsters, on the bonnet of a moving car, an official said on Friday.

The stunt was allegedly performed on a Mercedes-Benz car on a busy road in the Kharghar area on July 20, and its video went viral on social media.

The accused, Alfesh Azam Sheikh and Rafique Sulde, do not even have a valid driving licence, the official said.

The viral video shows a young woman standing on the bonnet of the moving car and performing ‘aura farming', which refers to the act of deliberately doing “cool” or “stylish” things. ‘Aura farming’ has spread like wildfire after an Indonesian boy “wowed” the internet with his smooth, dramatic poses.

“Such reckless acts not only endanger the lives of those involved but also create a sense of fear and alarm among the general public,” the official said.

Sheikh and Sulde have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections concerning rash driving, negligent conduct with respect to machinery, endangering life or personal safety of others, and attempt to commit culpable homicide.

Provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act have also been invoked in the case, the official added.

On Thursday, the police had booked five persons, including three women, for allegedly performing a dangerous stunt in a moving car in Mumbai's Malad area.