Guard on whom man fell from highrise dies

GHAZIABAD: A day after a youth and a woman friend jumped off a

highrise

apartment in

Raj Nagar Extension

, the security

guard

on whom one of them fell from the 15th floor, succumbed to his injuries. The guard, Devender Singh (30), died at Narendra Mohan Hospital around 4.30pm on Sunday.


The two who committed suicide—Jyoti Thakur (20) and Vishal Sharma (28)—had jumped from an unfinished flat on the 15th floor of Laurel Next apartment located inside

River Heights

society complex on Saturday around 3.30 pm. Vishal fell on Devender as the latter was trying to help out Jyoti, who jumped off first.

The family members of Jyoti and Vishal claimed that they did not have any knowledge about the duo’s relationship. Jyoti, a resident of Bhopura in Sahibabad, worked as a domestic help, while Vishal, a resident of Noor Nagar in Sihani Gate, was a carpenter. Police have not received any written complaint from anyone so far.

“She never told us anything about Vishal. We do not know for how long they knew each other. It has come as a shock to us,” Jyoti’s father Ashok Kumar said. He added that Jyoti was third among her sisters, and he was looking for a groom for her in the past six months.

Vishal’s brother Ankit too said he did not know anything about Jyoti and his brother’s relationship with her.

Circle officer II (city) Atish Kumar Singh said, “Prima facie, it looks like a case of suicide. However, the circumstances which forced them to take this extreme step are still not clear.”

A scrutiny of CCTV cameras installed in the elevators revealed that they entered the building around 2pm through the basement where no guard is deputed. They alighted at 15th floor. Just before getting off the lift, they hugged each other and then headed towards an unfinished flat. They spent around one-and-a-half hours inside the flat and then allegedly leapt from the balcony.

Devender’s friend Abhimanyu said Devender had been working at the complex since September this year. Harinder Tomar, a relative, said, “The incident took place while Devender was on duty. We will seek a compensation from the security agency where he worked.”