Domestic help dies after 'falling' from high-rise in Greater Noida, protest erupts

Noida: A 17-year-old girl, working as a domestic help, died allegedly after falling from the 19th floor of a group housing society in Greater Noida West on Tuesday morning, police said.

The incident, which took place around 9 am at the VVIP Homes society in Greater Noida West under the Bisrakh police station area, triggered a protest by several domestic workers.

The protesters blocked a road alleging the girl was molested and pushed by a resident from the eighth floor.

However, the police said they have analysed the CCTV footage of the eighth floor of the society and it showed the domestic help was talking on her mobile phone when she took a lift to go to the 19th floor.

The 19th floor is not covered by CCTV cameras, so it could not be ascertained if she herself jumped from there, they said.

"Around 9 am, the local police station received information about a suicide by a girl in the VVIP Homes society. She worked as a domestic help. A police team reached the spot and the CCTV footage of the area was analysed," Additional DCP (Central Noida) Hirdesh Katheriya said.

"Primary investigations suggested that the girl had entered the society at 8.13 am along with her mother, who also works as a domestic help. Around 9 am, she was seen talking to someone on the phone. At 9.14 am, she took the lift and went to the 19th floor after which the incident took place," Katheriya said.

The police are investigating the matter and enquiring the owners of the flats where she worked to find out how she fell off the building, the officer said.

He said the police are awaiting a complaint from her family to lodge an FIR in the case.

Meanwhile, the girl's mother and other domestic helps gathered outside the group housing complex and blocked the road in protest, demanding that the resident of the flat where she last worked be arrested.

"The girl's clothes appeared torn when her body was found on the ground,' a protester told reporters, alleging she was molested and thrown from the high-rise tower.

The protest prompted heavy security deployment at the society and the road was later opened for traffic, the officials said.