From ‘fake paneer’ claim to fake injury: Influencer Sarthak Sachdeva under fire for lying to get Air India upgrade

Although 19-year-old Sachdeva deleted the original video from Instagram, it was widely shared across other social media platforms, including X. Several users described the act as dishonest rather than a harmless experiment.

In the viral video, Sachdeva can be seen wearing an arm sling pouch, approaching the counter, and securing business class facilities. Air India has yet to respond to the incident.

Watch here:

Meet Instagram Influencer Sarthak 👏

– Bro pretended to have a hand injury at the airport, and at the ticket counter he used his fake injury to upgrade his normal ticket to business class. 😭 pic.twitter.com/WSovK0jskn

— Sumit (@beingsumit01) May 24, 2026

Many users demanded that the airline recover the value of the upgrade and introduce measures to discourage similar behaviour in the future. Others pointed to the possible consequences for airline staff and customer service practices.

“Air India upgraded him all the way to Business Class. Premium seat, complimentary food. Now he is saying it was a Social experiment. But fraud is fraud. If people start doing this and still get rewarded, many others will copy it. Airline staff may stop trusting real passengers who actually need help,” a user wrote.

“Air India should charge him for the upgrade and make it clear this is not okay,” the post added.

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This is Sarthak Sachdeva.

He allegedly faked a hand injury, went to the Air India counter and asked if he could get a free upgrade to first class because of the injury.

Air India upgraded him all the way to Business Class. Premium seat, complimentary food.

Now he is saying it… pic.twitter.com/gw5bXZBu4u

— Nalini Unagar (@NalinisKitchen) May 25, 2026

“The genuine people suffer because of treachery of such types of people,” another user commented. “It is true. One of my friend during an overseas travel met with an accident and suffered a leg fracture. Upon return he was upgraded to business class. No questions asked, he was given assistance for washroom access as well,” a third user chimed in.

Who is Sarthak Sachdeva?

Sarthak Sachdeva maintains a presence on multiple social media platforms, with content ranging from travel vlogs documenting international destinations to videos highlighting lesser-known places across India.

The bio on his YouTube channel boasts more than three million subscribers. “If I am alive at the age of 60, I would want to look back at these,” it states.

Sachdeva is also known for posting so-called ‘social experiment’ content. In a 2025 video, he alleged that he had been served “artificial paneer” at Torii, a Mumbai restaurant owned by producer and interior designer Gauri Khan.