BENGALURU: A 28-year-old Ambulance driver was pushed to death from the first floor of a three-storied building during an argument with an unidentified person who stays in the locality. The incident took place at Nagendra Block in Girinagar on Friday night. The deceased, identified as Devaraj, was a resident of Hanumanthnagar and was employed with a private ambulance service.
Police said Devaraj, a native of Kunigal, used to stay alone at Hanumanthnagar and had gone to his friends’ place in Girinagar on Friday night for a party. Devaraj’s friends Suneel and Santhosh, who are said to be drivers by profession, used to stay in a rented room on the first floor. Around 11.30 pm, Devaraj came to the balcony and threw a garbage bag down from the first floor. The bag fell on a passerby, who stays in the area. He abused Devaraj an angry Devaraj answered back. Furious, the person went to the first floor and started quarrelling. When Devaraj tried to escape, the person pushed him in a fit of rage, leading to Devaraj’s fall and his death. The accused fled the scene immediately.
“Devaraj died on the spot due to head injuries. His friends first alerted the neighbours, who found him lying in a pool of blood and alerted the Girinagar police. The incident was caught in a CCTV camera installed in a nearby house, but the identity of the accused is not clear. Efforts are on to nab him. Devaraj’s parents reached the city around afternoon and took the body to their native to conduct the final rites,” a senior police officer said.
Sunanda Ravi, a neighbour, told The New Indian Express, “There are eight rooms in the building named Madhu Complex and most of the residents are bachelors. Sometimes we can’t sleep properly due to their shouting. They regularly throw garbage in front of other houses and the building owner does not bother to keep a dustbin on the premises.”
Devaraj’s friend Suneel, who filed a police complaint, stated that Devaraj had brought food around 10.30pm after his work. They would often get together over the weekend. They were having dinner when Devaraj came out and threw the garbage bag. It fell on the passerby whom they had not seen earlier in the area. “The neighbours did not come out to see what happened when Devaraj was pushed from the building after a 12-minute altercation. The building owner also did not come to the spot even though he was informed.”