Woman critical after jumping from 5th floor of building

NEW DELHI: A 35-year-old woman jumped off the fifth floor of an under-construction building in south Delhi’s Kishangarh on Thursday evening, allegedly due to repeated harassment by her sisters-in-law after her husband’s death three years ago.

Having gauged her intention before she could jump, the woman’s 15-year-old son, Deepanshu, made a desperate attempt to prevent her from jumping, but failed.

The woman, Bhupendri Mehlawat, is battling for her life at Fortis Hospital. Her family said the fall has left her paralysed waist down.

Chinmoy Biswal, additional DCP (south), said that according to Deepanshu’s statement, the victim was allegedly being harassed by her three sisters-in-law for property and money.

Mehlawat lives in Kishangarh with her two children, 17-yearold Priya and her younger brother Deepanshu. She lost her husband Sanjeev in 2014.

“My aunt (father’s sister) fought with my mother on Thursday and that prompted her to jump off the building,” alleged Priya.

It was around 5.30pm on Thursday that an agitated Mehlawat began hurriedly climbing the stairs of an under-construction building near her home.Suspecting that not all was well, her son ran behind her. “I tried to physically stop my mother, but she managed to run up. Just before she was to jump, I pleaded with her to stop, but she was distraught and not in a position to listen to anyone,” he said.

During the fall, the woman hit pipes jotting out of the building before landing on the floor. Deepanshu ran downstairs to find his mother bleeding and unconscious. She was rushed to Fortis Hospital, where she is on ventilator, said her sister Savitri.

Biswal said a case under Indian Penal Code section 498A, pertaining to cruelty by husband’s relative, has been registered at Vasant Kunj (North) police station and investigation taken up.