Patna: Police in Patna have concluded that the death of a 17-year-old Class 12 student, who fell from the eighth floor of a coaching institute building in February, was a suicide, following a two-month investigation that found no evidence of foul play.
The student died after falling from the terrace near the AIIMS roundabout on February 12. Her family had alleged she was murdered and accused labourers at the site of involvement. However, officers say those claims are unsupported by forensic and technical evidence.
Bhanu Pratap Singh, the city superintendent of police (west), said a special investigation team (SIT) was formed soon after the incident and carried out an extensive inquiry, including crime scene analysis, forensic testing and the use of a dog squad. “After examining all available evidence, we have found no indication of murder,” he said.
Several individuals were detained and underwent polygraph tests conducted by a team from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Delhi. Police said the results did not reveal any involvement in the student’s death.
A postmortem examination, conducted under video surveillance by a medical board at AIIMS Patna, found no signs of sexual assault. Doctors attributed the cause of death to multiple injuries sustained in the fall, including haemorrhagic shock, traumatic asphyxia and spinal cord damage.
The report noted fractures to the shoulder and thigh bones, which caused puncture-like injuries, while an abrasion on the waist was likely caused by contact with a protruding structure during the fall. Some samples have been preserved for further forensic analysis.
CCTV footage from the coaching institute shows the student going up the stairs shortly before the incident, followed by two boys. The footage later captures her fall from the rooftop. The boys are seen descending the stairs, briefly pausing before leaving the scene. Police questioned the individuals but said no evidence linked them to any crime.
“The allegations made by the family against the labourers are baseless,” Singh said, adding that the investigation relied on both forensic findings and technical data.
Police said they are now focusing on establishing the circumstances that led the student to take her own life. The victim, a resident of Phulwari Sharif, was found on the road outside the institute, with her slippers nearby.
