UJJAIN: A 15-year-old schoolgirl fell to her death from the third floor of a hotel in Ujjain late Sunday night, apparently after a fight with her boyfriend, who too is a minor. Both of them had checked in as a married couple under false names.
The boy and another friend were present when the girl jumped from the roof following a dispute over a social media post, SP Satyendra Shukla told reporters on Monday.
CCTV cameras at shops in the busy locality captured her fatal fall. Police have arrested the boy and the manager of the hotel under IPC 305 for abetting the suicide of a minor. It carries the death penalty in the range of punishments. Police have said they may add more charges as the investigation progresses. The juvenile is two months short of turning 18.
The teenagers, Ujjain residents, had checked into the hotel on Sunday, where a second boy later arrived to meet them, said police. The girl’s boyfriend suspected her of having a relationship with the other boy, and confronted her in the hotel on Sunday.
The squabble escalated and the boyfriend allegedly slapped the girl in anger. She immediately jumped off the ledge, said investigators.
“We have collected CCTV footage and recorded statements of pilgrims staying at the hotel to establish that the boy slapped the girl after a heated argument, and she jumped off the roof,” said the SP.
Additional SP Amrendra Singh said, “We have taken the hotel manager as a co-accused in abetment of suicide case. There is no evidence linking the boy’s friend to the suicide.”
The manager has been booked under IPC 188 for violating the rules of checking in guests and not informing the administration.
“Under Section 305 of IPC for abetment of suicide of a minor, the accused can get capital punishment or life term in jail or imprisonment up to 10 years,” advocate Mudit Maheshwari told TOI.
