Ghaziabad: A 15-year-old girl suffered severe injuries after falling from the first-floor balcony of a building while attempting to escape an alleged sexual assault by a neighbour in Khoda. Police have detained a minor in the case.The girl, who studies in Class IX, lives with her family on the first floor of a three-storey building, while the minor lives on the floor above hers with his parents. Police said both attend the same school in Delhi but the boy is a year senior to the girl.According to the police, the incident occurred around 1.30am on Friday when the girl was asleep in her room. The accused allegedly managed to sneak into her flat and tried forcing himself on her. Startled, she bolted out of bed and ran toward the balcony. The boy caught her and allegedly covered her mouth to prevent her from raising an alarm. In her desperate attempt to break free, the girl fell from the balcony to the ground with a loud thud.The sound woke up the girl’s elder sister, who lives with her marital family on the ground floor of the same building. She rushed outside, only to find her sister lying injured. Her screams alerted the neighbours, who quickly gathered at the spot. The girl then narrated the entire ordeal to her sister, after which the police were informed, and she was rushed to a nearby hospital.Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Indirapuram Abhishek Shrivastava said a police team reached the spot after receiving the information and detained the minor. A case has been registered based on the complaint filed by the girl’s family, and further legal action is underway.The accused, however, did not attempt to flee. Instead, he quietly returned to his second-floor flat and went to bed. The commotion grew, and the girl’s family knocked on his door. His parents were initially shocked and unaware of the situation until the girl’s sister explained what had happened.Neighbours said the accused minor had recently gone through a breakup, which had left him visibly distressed. The girl had allegedly been trying to extend friendship toward him, and he might have read her attempts in a wrong way, they said.
