12-year-old dies after falling off high-rise in Mumbai

Though the police have registered a case of accidental death, officers said suicide cannot be ruled out

A 12-year-old boy fell off a 12-storied building in Kandivli (West) on Wednesday afternoon minutes after he left his home for tuitions. Though the police have registered a case of accidental death, officers said suicide cannot be ruled out.

Dharmik Shah, a Class 7 student, returned home from school in the afternoon and later for tuitions around 2 pm. When he came down from his 12th floor home, he asked the security guard for the terrace keys.

“The boy told the guard his mother had asked for the keys to dry clothes on terrace,” said an officer from Kandivli police station.

Shah then went to the terrace with his school bag. A police source said in the CCTV footage, Shah is seen walking up the stairs and entering the terrace. A passer-by noticed the boy seated on the edge of the terrace wall. He fell before the man could alert anyone, said an official.

The police found the boy’s school bag on the terrace.