Ghaziabad: A 15-year-old girl died after she was allegedly pushed from the fourth floor of a building in Kaushambi on Wednesday by a neighbour who had, according to the girl’s mother, been stalking her for nearly three months.The teenager, who was on her way home after purchasing milk, was accosted by the 30-year-old man around 10 pm. He allegedly dragged her to his room in the nearby building. Minutes later, she fell to her death, her mother has alleged in her police complaint.So far, police have found no eyewitnesses to the crime. Sources said they are also investigating if the girl was sexually assaulted. The accused, Shahnawaz alias Shanu, was detained on Thursday evening. He managed to escape after neighbours spotted the girl lying face down in the alley in front of the house and alerted police.In her complaint, the girl’s mother claimed that after her husband died three months ago, her daughter started working as a house helper in nearby residential areas. She alleged the accused, who lived barely 500 metres from her home, was aware of the girl’s daily routine and the route she took, and had begun following and harassing her on her way to work and when she returned. She said Shahnawaz was pressuring her daughter to marry him, but the girl repeatedly turned down his advances.“About a week ago, when Shahnawaz stopped my daughter on the way and tried to molest her. My daughter protested and abused him, which apparently angered him. He had revenge on his mind since,” the girl’s mother alleged, adding that her daughter was afraid to step out of the house since that incident.The woman said she had not approached police, fearing that a complaint would escalate matters and that Shahnawaz could then harass or attack her family members. She said minutes after her daughter went out to buy milk Wednesday, two neighbours informed her that the girl had fallen from the fourth floor of a building. She ran to the spot, but by then, people had taken her daughter to a nearby private hospital. When the girl’s condition worsened late at night, she was referred to GTB Hospital, where she died during treatment on Thursday.Indirapuram ACP Suryabali Maurya said an FIR was initially filed under BNS sections 109 (attempt to murder) and 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt). She said after the girl’s death, murder charges will be added to the FIR.
