MEERUT: A 23-year-old unemployed and depressed man who keeps slapping strangers on the street due to a dopamine rush has been arrested; Watch the video here

A 23-year-old unemployed graduate from Meerut has been arrested for slapping pedestrians, including a woman and a retired PCS officer, to experience a ‘dopamine rush’, according to a report in the Times of India.

The man, identified as Kapil Kumar, was suffering from depression after his father died and his mother remarried. His erratic behavior, which reportedly included slapping strangers over the past two months, has received police attention after several complaints and videos went viral on social media.

Kumar was arrested on Sunday evening, bringing an end to what was described as a “slapping spree” in recent weeks.

According to police, Kumar was involved in at least three incidents of slapping and was booked under BNS Section 115 (voluntarily). “He lost his father about five years ago and his mother remarried months later. He is now staying with his mother and stepfather in Suraj Kund in Meerut,” SP (Meerut City) Ayush Vikram Singh told TOI. Kumar told the cops that he was slapping people randomly. While riding a motorcycle for a dopamine rush he also faced suicidal thoughts.

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, generates feelings of alertness, focus, motivation and happiness. Speaking to TOI, Ilam Singh, SHO of Nauchandi, said: “Kumar appears to be suffering from a medical condition, but it is unclear whether he is receiving medication or not. We are collecting more information about his background to determine the facts.”

Police revealed that Kumar admitted that he had a troubled childhood, as his friends would often tease him because of his shy nature. “During interrogation, he stated that he was unemployed and stuck at home, and insisted that he was not bothering anyone.” One day, he thought that maybe “something good might happen by doing some bad things”, which led to him slapping strangers on the road,” police told TOI.

A video clip from surveillance cameras that appeared on the Internet shows a man walking casually, only to be slapped by a passing young man on a two-wheeled bicycle. The victim has been identified as a retired PCS officer. In another case, a woman filed a complaint against an “unknown man” who slapped her, later revealed to be Kumar, according to TOI.