GREATER NOIDA: A 26-year-old woman allegedly threw her four-year-old son from the 17th-floor balcony of their flat in Supertech Ecovillage in Noida Extension and then jumped to death on Saturday morning. Minutes earlier, she had thrown a bowl of hot oil on the face of her sister-in-law.
Priyanka Tyagi lived in the Supertech flat with her husband Nishant and their son Divyansh. Her sister-in-law Reema (17) had come to live with them after her Class XII exams were over. Nishant was not at home when Priyanka jumped off the balcony around 8.15am — he had gone to his hometown in Moradabad.
Neighbours quoted Reema and said the 17-year-old had just woken up when Priyanka called her to the kitchen and threw the hot oil on her, grievously burning her face. There was no immediate clarity on whether any argument had preceded the attack.
Police are still trying to piece together the sequence of events. But it is suspected that soon after Reema ran out of the house to seek help from neighbours, Priyanka went to the room where her son was sleeping and jumped off the balcony after throwing him to the ground.
Little Divyansh first hit a tin shade just below the balcony before landing on the green belt at the base of the tower where the Tyagis lived. “His mother then jumped to her death. Both the bodies lay face down, oozing blood. We informed police, but both the mother and her son had died on the spot,” a neighbour said.
Reema, who had run out of the house screaming after Priyanka poured hot oil on her, was taken by neighbours to the nearby Sumitra Hospital. Her parents and brother were then informed.
“Reema told us that when she woke up, Priyanka was sweeping the floor. She then called the 17-year-old to the kitchen. After the oil was thrown at her, Reema ran out of the house screaming for help. Our door was bolted from outside as I had gone to get milk. When I returned, I saw that her face had burnt. We rushed her to a hospital,” the neighbour said.
Reema, who lives with her mother in Ghaziabad, had come to stay with her brother Nishant recently. Priyanka’s parents-in-law said they had no idea what could have driven her to take such a harsh step.
Priyanka’s parents have, however, alleged that their daughter would be harassed by her husband and parents-in-law. They have also urged police to scan footage of all CCTV cameras installed near the tower, saying their daughter could not have jumped on her own. Later in the evening, Priyanka’s father lodged a police complaint.
Additional DCP (central Noida) Ankur Aggarwal said it was unlikely that Priyanka had been murdered. “There were only three persons in the house and one of them had run out. The other was her son. And the possibility of another person coming into the house seems remote. It seems the motive was to kill herself. There could have been an argument or an old dispute might have cropped up,” the officer added.
Nishant, a private firm employee, has been detained for questioning.
Meanwhile, the autopsies on both the bodies have revealed multiple fractures and organ damage.