Five-year-old’s death in Mumbai: Cops question two neighbours

The Byculla police on Tuesday questioned two women over the death of a five-year-old child who mysteriously ‘fell’ from the corridor outside her 15th floor flat at Byculla. The two women and the child’s parents are neighbours, who fought a couple of times over difference issues.

The questioning is based on the suspicion raised by the girl’s father, Ashok Ingale, the police said. Her mother, Aarti, is a traffic constable.

“The two women and Ingale stay on the same floor. On several occasions, they have fought over household matters. One of the women has even filed complaint against him after they fought over a petty issue.” While with the second women, the two fought over some household issue. The second woman also had run-ins with Manavi’s family, said an officer.

However the police are trying to gather evidence against the two before taking any action.

“We have no witness or evidence against the women. We are inquiring with other residents of the building,” added an officer.

Manvi fell from the common gallery’s window at New Hind Mill, MHADA colony, at 1pm on Monday. The child was in the junior kindergarten at Byculla’s Gloria School . She is said to have fallen off after she was dressed and ready to leave for the school.Doctors declared her dead on arrival. Her mother was in the office when she was informed.

“We have got CCTV footage of the ground where the girl can be seen falling. Had there been a CCTV camera on the 15th floor, the case would have been solved by now,” an official said.

Senior police inspector Avinash Shingte from Byculla police station said, “We have not arrested anyone till now, as we are trying to gather evidence. The two women are being questioned but we are not ruling out any possibility and are investigating from every angle.”