Cineplex employee’s body found on mall terrace

Noida: The body of a 48-year-old cineplex employee was found on the terrace of a Sector 18 mall Friday morning. The body has been recovered and sent for an autopsy.

Noida: The body of a 48-year-old cineplex employee was found on the terrace of a Sector 18 mall Friday morning. The body has been recovered and sent for an autopsy.

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The deceased was identified as Bhuwan Chandra Sharma, a resident of Sonia Vihar, Delhi. He was employed with PVR cinemas in DLF Mall of India in Sector 18 for the past six months, police said.

According to police, his body was found around 10.30am by mall security, who reported the matter to police after which a team was sent to the spot.

“He had an injury to the back of his head but there wasn’t much blood at the scene. In addition, there was blood on his wrist which was caught under his body. Other than these, there were no other external injuries on his body,” superintendent of police (city) Vineet Jaiswal said.

Although police have not ruled out foul play, they believe it was an accidental death or a suicide.

“No suicide note was recovered from the spot and apart from the stress due to a hectic work schedule, the family has also not mentioned any reason as to why Bhuwan might end his life. However, we are probing all possibilities. His body was sent for autopsy,” Jaiswal said.

A forensic team also visited the spot soon after the incident was reported.

Police said from the CCTV footage Bhuwan was seen signing in at 7.40am. He is a deputy engineer with the technical team, police said.

“He was seen going about his work and around 10.30am, he went towards the terrace. There is some equipment kept behind one of the screens on the outside. From there, a flight of steps goes up to a narrow platform and in the corner, we found his footprints — his body was just below the platform. A small cemented part below the steps had been broken and we suspect that he might have hit his head there, causing the injury and, subsequently, his death,” the SP said.

However, police said the cause of death will be ascertained only after the autopsy. The height that the victim fell from is approximately two storeys, police said. They said no one else is seen going or coming from the spot in the CCTV footage.

Bhuwan’s body was handed to the family after the autopsy but no complaint has been filed yet.

A security guard with the cineplex, who wished to remain anonymous, said they got to know about the incident when police arrived. “There was a lot of commotion all around and afterwards, they brought his body out. We don’t know what happened but we heard that this was an accident,” the guard said.

PVR officials could not be reached for comment. However, spokesperson for the mall called it an unfortunate incident.

“The incident was reported by the mall security. Our mall is being operated and managed by international facilities management firm, Cushman & Wakefield, and they are complying and assisting with authorities. We are awaiting further clarity on the incident. Our wishes and prayers are with the deceased’s friends and family,” a DLF spokesperson said.