Man jumps to death from Gurgaon high-rise in full public view

A 21-year-old electrician, suffering from schizophrenia, kept his family members and the police on the edge for five hours before jumping to his death from the 18th floor of a high-rise.

A 21-year-old electrician, suffering from schizophrenia, kept his family members, police, fire fighters, and security guards and residents of a condominium on the edge for five hours before jumping to his death from the 18th floor of a residential highrise on Monday.

The incident took place in a gated residential community called Hibiscus in Sector 50. (Abhinav Saha/HT Photo)

The incident took place at Hibiscus, a gated residential community in Sector 50 where the electrician climbed up to the 18th floor at 9.30 am. The victim, Satyawan Verma, from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, climbed up the building alleging he was humiliated by security guards who accused him in a theft in the society.

Soon after reaching the top, Satyawan called his brother Rajendra Verma, with whom he had been living in a rented accommodation in neighbouring Tigara village for three years, threatening to end his life.

As Satyawan had made such threats in the past, Rajender didn’t see a cause for alarm until he was informed that his brother had indeed been trying to carry out his threat.

In the meantime, security guards, police personnel, and residents had assembled at the scene. While police guarded the area, the security guards barred anyone, including the media, from entering the building.

After an hour, Satyawan fixed a rope on the building roof and stood on the parapet above the window of an apartment on the 18th floor. He threatened to hang himself with the rope, said the police.

Everyone, including Satyawan’s brother and two relatives who had reached the spot, tried to counsel him and get him to change his mind, but he did not listen. According to the police, he also threatened to jump off every time someone made attempts to get near him.

At 2.30 pm, Satyawan jumped off the building, shocking everyone. He was rushed to a private hospital, but doctors pronounced him brought dead. No suicide note was found by the police.

Rajendra told the police that his brother had been suffering from schizophrenia and had attempted suicide earlier too.

“He called me in the morning after reaching the building and told me that he would kill himself. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he was adamant.”

“We had even laid a mattress on the floor and had sent his relatives to speak to him. We tried everything possible, but he did not listen to anyone,” said Dharna Yadav, assistant commissioner of police, Sadar.