A 25-year-old woman anchor of a news channel died early Friday, allegedly after falling off the balcony of her fourth floor residence in a high-rise in Sector 77, Noida. Police believe it to be a case of accidental death, but her family has filed a complaint of murder, accusing her colleague of pushing her to death.
Radhika Kaushik, an anchor with Zee Rajasthan, fell off the balcony of her flat in tower N, Antriksh Forest society.
Police have sent the body for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Based on the family’s complaint, a case of murder under Section 302 of the IPC has been filed against her male colleague. “We have detained the man for questioning. However, he claims to be innocent,” said Girija Shankar Tripathi, SHO, Sector 49 police station.
According to the security guard, the incident took place around at 3.20am. Radhika’s male colleague was with her at the time. “The night duty guard told us that he heard the woman’s friend shout for help. When he reached the spot, he saw Radhika bleeding on the ground and called the police,” the guard who came on duty in the afternoon said.
Police said Radhika had moved to Noida nearly two months ago, after she started working with Zee. “We have recovered beer cans and liquor bottles. It seems that the woman was drunk at the time of the incident. It could be a case of accident or murder. We can be certain only after the autopsy report comes in,” Girija Shankar Tripathi, station house officer, Sector 49 police station, said.
“She was a simple and hardworking girl. In fact, she never consumed alcohol. Her death cannot be an accident,” Brijesh Kaushik, the woman’s father, said.
He said around 11pm, he had spoken with her. “She seemed normal then,” Kaushik,a music teacher, said.
Police said the colleague claimed that he was in the washroom when she fell. He ran downstairs and called for help. Police said he has claimed that she was drunk at that time and must have tripped over the balcony fence.
“Radhika’s flatmate was on night shift at her IT firm. Radhika had asked the flatmate to order dinner for them online around midnight. Since the balcony railing was only around three foot high, there is a chance that she lost her balance and fell,” the officer said.