‘Brother asked them to come down — then heard a thud’: Woman killed, friend injured in ‘fall’ from four-storey building

Occasionally, the 21-year-old would cross over to the adjacent rooftop to meet her neighbour, Tripti (19). They were close; they were childhood friends.

Even after Sunita got married in February and moved to her in-laws’ home in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi, the two kept in touch.

A month ago, police said, Sunita returned home. Her father, Ramesh, said her left hand was paralysed eight days before her wedding and she came to Delhi so she could undergo treatment and find out the cause.

She and Tripti resumed their walks.

But seldom would the duo venture near a corner of Tripti’s roof, on the right side, where there was a gap between the buildings.

On Tuesday night, they are suspected to have ventured towards the gap — and allegedly fell off the roof. Sunita was killed. Tripti is in critical condition at the hospital.

Police suspect both women accidentally fell.

The families, meanwhile, are left looking for answers.

“Valmiki Jayanti ki yatra nikal rahi thi. Bachhe dekh rahe the (There was a procession on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti. The two were watching it),” said Jagnarayan Dubey, Tripti’s grandfather.

“It’s the only corner from where you can have a glimpse of the Chowri Bazaar area where the yatra was passing through. I told them to come down…,” he added.

Police said they may have been trying to get a peek of the procession from the corner of the rooftop. One of them possibly tripped, suspect police, and tried to hold on to the other.

“A PCR call was received at 8.41 pm at Hauz Qazi police station. The caller said that his sister and her friend were found lying near a building at Hakim Bakka, Hauz Qazi Chowk. When a police team reached the spot, they found a woman found lying dead in the narrow lane with severe head injuries. She was later identified as Sunita. Her skull was extensively damaged, apparently due to a fall from height,” a police officer said.

The other woman was Tripti — it was her brother who had made the PCR call. A police officer said she is in critical condition.

“During preliminary enquiry, it was revealed that Sunita and Tripti were neighbours and close friends. They used to take walks together on the terrace of their adjoining houses. On Tuesday night, Tripti’s brother said he had gone to the terrace to ask his sister to come downstairs as it was getting late. Both women appeared normal at that time, showing no signs of distress,” a police officer said.

As soon as he went downstairs, Tripti’s brother heard a loud thud. He then rushed to the ground floor and found his sister and Sunita lying in a pool of blood, a police officer said.

“From the enquiry conducted so far, it appears to be a case of a fall from height. Further investigation is underway as per procedure. Since Sunita got married in February, the SDM Karol Bagh has been informed to conduct proceedings under Section 196 (inquiry by magistrate into cause of death) of the BNSS although no allegations of foul play have emerged,” the officer said.

One among her five siblings, Sunita had completed her Bachelor’s degree and married a man from her hometown in Hardoi.

Chandreyas, Sunita’s uncle, said, “We took the night train and got to Delhi as soon as we could. Ramesh is at Lok Nayak hospital. We will take her body and go to our village for the last rites.”

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