Teen throws girl off 8th floor in Mumbai’s Goregaon
“We have lodged an FIR and caught the minor. His parents have been arrested,” said Vijaylaxmi Hiremath, senior police inspector, Aarey sub police.
A 16-year-old boy allegedly picked up and threw a 13-year-old girl off the eighth floor of her building in Goregaon (East), as the victim wanted to end their friendship, earlier this week. The girl is currently battling for her life at Hiranandani Hospital as she fractured her skull, said the Aarey sub police. The boy was picked up by the police on Monday, while his parents were arrested on Tuesday for destroying evidence — records of phone messages between the boy and girl — and hiding him at a relative’s place.
“We have lodged an FIR and caught the minor. His parents have been arrested,” said Vijaylaxmi Hiremath, senior police inspector, Aarey sub police.
The police booked the boy under stringent sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) for sexual harassment and under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for attempt to murder. He had allegedly told the girl, “Agar tum meri nahi ho sakti toh kisi ki nahi ho sakti”, before throwing her off the refuge area. The boy has been sent to a correction home.
According to the Aarey sub police, the boy, who lives in a chawl near her building, met the girl six months ago in a tuition class and they soon became friends. He would come to her building to deliver food parcels from a hotel run by his father. When her mother recently got to know about their friendship, she asked her to end it. “She then stopped speaking to him and asked him to stay away. But the boy kept harassing her. On June 29, around 9.30pm, he asked her to meet him in the refuge area on the eighth floor. When they met, the girl told him that she does not want to meet again and wants to end the friendship. This angered the boy, who then lifted her and threw her off the building,” said a police officer.
The police said she hung on to the parapet for a few seconds, before her hand slipped.
A person, speaking on the phone in the compound, heard a loud noise and rushed to see what happened. He then saw the girl in a pool of blood and raised an alarm. She was rushed to Seven Hills Hospital and then to Hiranandani Hospital.
According to the police, the accused rushed home and confessed to his parents. His parents then took his phone and deleted all communications between the two teenagers.
They then sent him to Sion to a relative’s place and were hoping that the case will be treated as a suicide. The police learnt about the case early on June 30.
During investigations, the police learnt that the minor was at the crime spot at the same time. He was picked up from Sion on Monday and he confessed to the crime and an FIR was registered. The FIR was registered under sections 307 (murder attempt), 354 (molestation), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 212 (harbouring offender) and 34 (act done with common intention) of IPC and 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment of child) of POCSO Act. When the victim’s mother was contacted, a family friend picked up the phone and said the parents are in no state to speak.
Investigations also revealed that the accused had confronted the girl a few days before the incident, outside a mall, where she was with another boy. The accused threatened her with the same dialogue too then. The girl had also informed her parents about the harassment, but they did not complain to the police about it.
“The mother is saying the boy was harassing her daughter, despite the teacher warning him to keep away. He was also asked to leave classes for his erratic behaviour. The doctor said her chances of survival are bleak,” said the family friend.
