Rajkot: A two-and-a-half-year-old girl died after falling from the fifth floor of a 7-storey residential building on Kuwadva Road in Rajkot on Monday evening, with police strongly suspecting that she was flung to her death rather than having fallen accidentally.The police have initiated a murder investigation even though the formal offence will be registered after they receive the forensic postmortem report and other primary evidence.The incident occurred around 7pm on Oct 12 in the C Wing of Shaheed Udham Singh Township. The toddler, Snehal Sakariya, lived on the fifth floor with her mother, Poonam, and maternal grandparents. Snehal had stepped out of her flat to play with another child who lives on the sixth floor, but within minutes, neighbours alerted the family that she had fallen.Physical evidence gathered from the scene raised doubts among investigators and kin. “While the parapet wall of the corridor measures roughly 4 feet in height, Snehal was only around 3 feet tall, making an accidental tumble unlikely. Crucially, the toddler’s body landed 6 feet away from the base of the wall, leading to suspicion that she was deliberately lifted and flung off the building,” said investigators.B Division police inspector G R Chauhan said the family dynamics form a key line of inquiry. Poonam had married Sanjay Sakariya, a driver, about three years ago. Due to marital discord, she and Snehal had been staying with her parents for the past 12 to 18 months. Police are investigating matters while keeping immediate relatives under scrutiny.Adding to the mystery, the girl’s maternal grandfather, Jagdish Parsoda, reported bizarre occurrences on the 5th floor over the three days preceding the fall. Bedding, quilts, clothes and footwear left outside flats were repeatedly hurled into a party plot behind the building. Hours before the fatal incident, two flowerpots belonging to a neighbour were also thrown down.Investigation hurdles remain as the township’s surveillance cameras cover only the ground levels, leaving the upper corridors unmonitored.Police have sent the body for a forensic postmortem, noting that the autopsy report and circumstantial evidence will determine the direction of legal proceedings as questioning continues.
