Teenager boy dies after falling from plastic shed of restaurant in Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) A 16-year-old boy, who had gone out to play billiards at a nearby mall, died after allegedly falling from a plastic shed of a restaurant in northwest Delhi’s Gujranwala area, police said on Monday.

The police said they received a PCR call on Sunday and rushed to the spot, where they learnt that the injured boy, Kabin, a Class 11 student and local resident, had already been shifted to a hospital, where he was later declared dead.

According to police, Kabin had gone out around 5 pm with his classmates Aryamen, Kabir and Yash Tyagi, to the restaurant to hang out.

"Preliminary inquiry revealed that the group reached the top of the building using the staircase. The boy climbed onto a plastic shed installed as a cover for the gallery space between adjacent shops. The shed collapsed under his weight, causing him to fall onto the ground below," a senior police officer said.

A crime team and forensic experts inspected the spot to ascertain the exact sequence of events, police said.

Kabin’s father, Rahul Kumar, while speaking to PTI, however, questioned the police version and said the circumstances surrounding the death of his son were suspicious.

"Our child had gone out after taking Rs 100 from his mother to play billiards at a mall barely three minutes from our home. About an hour later, we received a call that he was seriously injured and admitted to a hospital," Rahul told PTI.

Kumar alleged that friends of his son were nowhere to be seen after the incident and that it was hospital staff who took the boy for treatment.

"After speaking to his friends, their statements appeared suspicious and inhuman. If something happens to a friend, the natural reaction is to raise an alarm or rush him to a hospital. Nothing like that happened," he said.

He also claimed that the boy had fallen from a height of nearly 100 feet and questioned how he reached the spot, alleging possible foul play. Kumar further said there had been a quarrel eight to ten days earlier, and a case was already registered at the Ashok Vihar police station.

"There is no access to that place and no staircase leading there. How did he reach that spot, and who took him there? Was he pushed? Was there any animosity?” he questioned.

Emphasising the human loss, he said his son was looking forward to family celebrations. "There was a party planned at home. He was very excited that his sister was coming back from Canada. Kabin was very intelligent, and even his passport renewal was scheduled for today," the father said.

Police said further investigation is underway. PTI SSJ SHS