Teen falls to death at Hauz Khas Village

New Delhi: The 19-year-old son of a former Manipur education minister died under mysterious circumstances on Saturday evening after he fell from the terrace of a restaurant in South Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village. 

The police carried out a probe and is waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of death. It is unable to determine yet if the death was accidental or intentional. A case of culpable homicide has been registered after the youth’s family members suspected foul play.

Siddharth, the son of Manipur’s former home and education minister M. Okendru, was a first year student of Fine Arts and was studying in Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) in Netaji Nagar. Siddharth had come to the city just a month ago. He was staying along with his sister and brother in Safdarjung Enclave area in South Delhi.

According to police, Siddharth was found lying in a pool of blood on Saturday evening around 4:30 pm in the parking area of a building housing a restaurant by the name of ‘Match Box.’ He was rushed to a hospital but he succumbed to his injuries there, additional deputy commissioner of police Chinmoy Biswal said.

“Some flower pots were found lying broken at the back of the restaurant building while his personal items like wallet, cell phone, and spectacles were found lying on the terrace. There was no eyewitness to the incident,” Mr Biswal said. Another official said that Siddharth had gone to the restaurant with his friends and had allegedly ordered beer at the restaurant.

A mobile crime team inspected the spot after Sidharth’s sister said that she suspected foul play in the death. Apart from questioning the restaurant staff, police was examining the closed-circuit television footage from the restaurant. It is said that in the CCTV footage, Siddharth can be seen inside the restaurant and walking towards the terrace.

“We are probing all angles. We are probing if it was an accidental fall or if he was pushed off the terrace. We are also looking at CCTV images from the nearby buildings,” a senior police officer said. Siddharth’s driver said that he had taken the former to Venkateshwar College in the morning following which they went o DCAC in the afternoon. Siddharth seemed to be visibly happy as he had sought admission in the college. According to the driver, Siddharth then allegedly asked to be dropped at Hauz Khas Village.

The news of the incident came to light when the victim’s phone went unanswered following which his father called the driver. When the driver called Siddharth on his mobile phone, it was picked up by the police who informed the driver about the incident.

When Siddharth’s sister, Ujjawala, a third year student of Lady Sri Ram College, learnt about the incident, she rushed to the hospital. She told the police that her brother had no enemies and he couldn’t do something like this. She further said that she suspects foul pla