Kanpur — A 22-year-old man died on Saturday after falling from the sixth floor of an apartment building in the Bithoor area of Kanpur, and police are investigating sharply conflicting accounts of how he fell, officers and both families said. The deceased was identified as Sambhav Khandelwal, a resident of R K Nagar and the only son of Vishal Khandelwal, a well-known paper businessman who runs Guru Paper House. Sambhav, who was studying and also helped in the family business, had gone to meet a friend at her flat in Tower-2 of Rudra Greens Apartment.

Source: TezzBuzz

According to Sambhav's family, he left home by car at around 1:30 pm on Saturday, saying he was going to meet a friend. About an hour and a half later, the family received a call that he had fallen from the sixth floor and been taken, injured, to Paras Hospital; when the family reached the hospital, doctors declared him dead. Reports said he had suffered severe head injuries.

Source: The CSR Journal

Two conflicting accounts of the fall

The friend, who lives in Mumbai and had come to Kanpur for the Diwali holidays, was in the flat with her maternal uncle and her younger brother at the time, according to the uncle's account given to reporters. He said Sambhav and the younger child were playing with a ball inside the flat when the ball rolled onto the balcony; Sambhav went to retrieve it, slipped on oil spilled near the balcony from lamps lit for Diwali, lost his balance and fell. He said family members took Sambhav to hospital, but he could not be saved. The friend's family, which is in the metal business, has described the death as an accident.

Sambhav's family has rejected that account and alleged foul play. They said there were abrasion marks on his right leg and scratches on his waist, back and hands, which they claim indicate he was assaulted before the fall, and they alleged he was pushed. The family also pointed to a message reading 'Don't Come', which they said the friend sent him at around 2 pm, and claimed that chat data had been deleted from his phone. These are the family's allegations; police have not endorsed them.

Forensic team inspects flat, post-mortem awaited

On receiving information, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Dilip Singh reached the apartment with a police team and forensic experts. The team examined the flat and the spot below where Sambhav fell and collected evidence, and the body was sent for a post-mortem examination to establish the exact cause of death. Police said further action will be taken on the basis of the statements of both sides, the family's complaint and the post-mortem report.