18-year-old man pushes ‘friend’ off cliff near Sirohi lake in Faridabad

A 18-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly pushed his 19-year-old friend off a cliff near Sirohi lake in Faridabad after the two argued over a smartphone while taking selfies, police said

A 18-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly pushed his 19-year-old friend off a cliff near Sirohi lake in Faridabad after the two argued over a smartphone while taking selfies, police said. The suspect, Mohammad Mufid, later allegedly told the victim’s family that his friend had slipped from the cliff and drowned while taking a selfie.

Police identified the victim as Raj Kumar, a native of Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, and said he fell about 73 feet onto rocks below the cliff and died on the spot.

Police identified the victim as Raj Kumar, a native of Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, and said he fell about 73 feet onto rocks below the cliff and died on the spot.

His body was recovered around 8.30pm on Monday, more than a day after the incident and following an extensive search of the lake by rescue teams after being falsely informed by the suspect that he has fallen into the lake.

Kumar had lived with his parents and four minor brothers in Sirohi for the past 15 years.

Police said Kumar and Mufid left home around 4pm on Sunday to visit the Sirohi hills, part of the Aravallis, and the nearby lake. The alleged killing took place around 4.30pm.

Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said the two were taking selfies atop the cliff when Kumar’s newly purchased phone slipped from his hand and fell into the gorge as Mufid tried to take it from him to click pictures.

Police said Kumar subsequently leaned over the cliff in an attempt to locate his phone, when Mufid allegedly pushed him.

“He fell on to large rocks about 73 feet below and died on the spot. The suspect returned home without telling anything to anyone,” Yadav said.

Investigators said Kumar’s family began looking for him after he failed to return home and his phone remained unreachable. Around 11.30pm, they approached Mufid, who allegedly told them that Kumar had slipped from the cliff while taking selfies and fallen into the lake.

The family alerted police, following which a search operation was launched shortly after midnight. The district administration requisitioned a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team on Monday morning, and deep divers and teams in inflatable boats began searching the lake around 8am.

Inspector Anil Kumar, station house officer of Dhauj police station, said Mufid remained with police and rescuers throughout the search and pointed out locations where he claimed Kumar could have fallen.

“He kept pointing out locations according to which search was carried out,” the SHO said.

After divers failed to find the body or anything suspicious in the water even by 8pm, police questioned Mufid again.

Police said he then told investigators that he had pushed Kumar off the cliff and led them to the spot where the victim had fallen. The body was recovered from the rocks within about 30 minutes, after the search in the lake had been called off.

The SHO said Mufid’s family initially tried to present him as a juvenile to avoid arrest but he turned out to be over 18 in a subsequent verification of his identity and age-related documents. He was formally arrested on Tuesday night, police said.

Based on a complaint by Kumar’s father, Gore Lal, police registered an FIR at Dhauj police station on Tuesday against Mufid under section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Kumar’s body was handed over to his family after an autopsy.