Bengaluru: Students fall off window in Brigade Road mall, girl dies

BENGALURU: A college girl died after she accidentally fell off a window on the second floor of a shopping complex on the busy Brigade Road in central Bengaluru on Saturday afternoon. Her male classmate, who fell along with her and suffered fractures in the leg, has been hospitalised.
The deceased, 20-year-old Leah Regina, was pursuing second-year BCom at St Joseph’s College of Commerce along with Chris Peter, who was injured. Regina, whose father works with a travel company in Dubai, was staying with her mother in Fraser Town. Peter, who is from Hyderabad, stays in a PG accommodation in HSR Layout.
The incident occurred around 2.30pm at 5th Avenue shopping complex when the duo, who had finished their fourth-semester exam, reportedly visited the mall to purchase a birthday gift for another classmate.
An injured Peter reportedly told police: “After writing the exam, we decided to attend a birthday party at my friend’s house. Regina said we should buy a gift for him and we visited Brigade Road. After visiting shops in 5th Avenue, we were heading back when the accident took place. Regina was going down the stairs when she suddenly slipped and fell off the window. I was behind her and made a futile attempt to stop her. We both hit the ground below.”
Preliminary investigations revealed the window near the stairs was fitted with a fibre sheet that gave way when the girl fell on it. The window did not have any metal grills or other safety mechanisms, police added. The impact was such that the girl suffered serious head injuries. Peter, who fell near her, was shocked seeing her lying in a pool of blood and desperately called for help.
Fell from 20ft height: Cop
A few police constables, who were patrolling in the shopping zone, rushed to the spot and shifted the two to Nimhans. Doctors declared Regina dead, said deputy commissioner of police SD Sharanappa. Another cop said: “The fibre sheet is two ft wide and the two fell from a height of 20 ft.”
“Based on a complaint filed by Regina’s family, we have taken up an unnatural death case,” jurisdictional cops from Cubbon Park police station said.