A 23-year-old unemployed graduate from Meerut has been arrested for allegedly slapping pedestrians, including a woman and a retired PCS officer, for experiencing a “dopamine rush”, according to a Times of India report.

Identified as Kapil Kumar, the man had suffered from depression after his father’s death and his mother’s marriage. His erratic behaviour, which allegedly included slapping strangers over the past two months, attracted police attention after several complaints and videos circulating on social media.

Kumar’s arrest took place on Sunday evening, ending what had been described as a “slap” in recent weeks.

According to the police, Kumar was involved in at least three incidents of slapping and has been booked under section 115 of BNS (voluntarily). SP (Meerut City) Ayush Vikram Singh told TOI, “He lost his father about five years ago, and his mother remarried months later. He now stays with his mother and stepfather in Suraj Kund in Meerut. Kumar told the cops that she had been slapping people at random while riding a scooter for a dopamine rush and also encountered suicidal thoughts.”

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, generates feelings of alertness, focus, motivation and happiness. “Kumar seems to have an ailment, but it is not clear if he is taking medicine. We are gathering more information about his background to ascertain the facts,” Nauchandi SHO Ilam Singh said while talking to TOI.

Police revealed that Kumar admitted to having a troubled childhood, with friends often bullying him due to his shy nature. “During questioning, he mentioned being out of work and stuck at home, insisting he wasn’t ‘disturbing anyone.'” One day, he thought maybe “something good could happen by doing some bad things,” leading to his anger of slapping strangers on the road,” the police told TOI.

A CCTV clip that surfaced online shows a man walking casually, only to be slapped by a passing youth on a two-wheeler. The victim was identified as a retired PCS officer. In another case, a woman lodged a complaint against an “unidentified man” who had slapped her, who was later revealed to be Kumar, according to TOI.