Delhi suicide tower kills one more

THE SWANKY high-rise towers at the Janakpuri District Centre, west Delhi's hippest hangout, are turning into suicide spots. On Wednesday morning, Karthik Swamy, a 24-year-old computer operator, allegedly committed suicide by jumping from his fourth-floor office at the centre. It was the fifth such incident at the centre in the past nine months.

The police said Karthik was an employee of the Northern Credit Collection Business, a call centre, at Vishwadeep Towers. He was reportedly depressed and undergoing treatment.

Karthik's father, Muthuswamy, who works as a cook at the Doordarshan Kendra, said the police should not insist on an autopsy, as he did not suspect any foul play.

But not every one has made peace with the incidents at the centre. Just three weeks ago, Neha Kakkar, a 19-year-old student of Jesus and Mary College, allegedly jumped from another high-rise building at the district centre. Her parents had alleged that she was assaulted and then thrown down.

In March, another 18-year-old's body was found at the centre. The teenager allegedly jumped from the sixth floor of Vishal Towers but there was contention that the autopsy report had pointed to strangulation.

How did the 14 towers in the complex become notorious as scenes of crime? Janakpuri residents, who point to the unoccupied shops on top floors, are livid at the authorities' failure to instal a round-the-clock patrol.

The police should increase the security at the centre, say some of them who have come to the centre to watch a cinema or for a bite.

"This place was Janakpuri's answer to south Delhi's swish hangouts but it is in danger of acquiring a bad name," says Vakul Cowshik, a Janakpuri resident. "The open balconies are not safe. Grilles and barriers must be put up." Agrees Gulshan Rai of the Janakpuri RWA. He says people should be stopped from going to the vacant floors. The authorities do not have to wait for one more tragedy.