A senior anchor of a private news channel was arrested by Noida’s Sector 49 police on Sunday for the death of a female anchor of the same channel who ‘fell’ to her death on Friday from the balcony of her fourth floor Noida residence in Sector 77.
Police said Rahul Awasthi, a senior anchor of the channel was present in the fourth floor Antriksh Forest residence of the victim, Radhika Kaushik, when the incident took place on Friday.
Awasthi had earlier told police that he was in the washroom when Radhika ‘fell’ to her death.
“We have found some loopholes in his statement. Also, one of the security guards of the building had seen the duo standing in the balcony just minutes before Radhika fell,” said Shwetabh Pandey, circle officer 3, Noida police.
Police officials had earlier detained Awasthi for questioning and were probing the case from all angles. Forensic teams had recreated the crime scene on Saturday. “Our preliminary investigations suggest that this may not have been a murder. However, Awasthi, a resident of Sector 134, definitely had a role to play in the incident. The forensic team, based on Radhika’s height, have said that the chances are slim that she would have been sitting on the balcony railing, a claim Rahul had made. He has been arrested and will be produced before a judicial magistrate on Monday,” Pandey said. Radhika’s family had filed a murder complaint against Awasthi and an FIR had been registered . However, based on the available evidence, Awasthi has been booked under Section 304 (culpable homicide).
A native of Jaipur, the 25-year-old woman had come to Noida in September. On Thursday, she had left office around 10 pm and came back to her residence at 10.48pm, where she was later joined by Awasthi. Police officials had found empty beer cans and alcohol bottles from her residence. Radhika’s family on Sunday reiterated that she didn’t consume alcohol. “We are glad that he (Awasthi) has been arrested but we are unhappy that he hasn’t been booked for murder,” said Yogesh Kaushik, Radhika’s uncle.
{{/usCountry}}A native of Jaipur, the 25-year-old woman had come to Noida in September. On Thursday, she had left office around 10 pm and came back to her residence at 10.48pm, where she was later joined by Awasthi. Police officials had found empty beer cans and alcohol bottles from her residence. Radhika’s family on Sunday reiterated that she didn’t consume alcohol. “We are glad that he (Awasthi) has been arrested but we are unhappy that he hasn’t been booked for murder,” said Yogesh Kaushik, Radhika’s uncle.
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