Mumbai Police are investigating the death of an 18-month-old girl at a housing society in Goregaon East after CCTV footage appeared to show a 10-year-old neighbour lifting and pushing her into a sixth-floor staircase duct on Wednesday night. No FIR had been registered when the report was published, and the older child was produced before the Child Welfare Commission for inquiry.
According to police, an accidental death record was initially registered after the toddler was found injured on the ground floor of the building. The child was taken to a doctor by residents but was declared dead. Her body was sent for a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death.
The toddler lived on the sixth floor with her parents and four brothers. A relative told police that she had been playing in the common corridor outside the homes with a stray cat. When the child could not be found, her mother sent one of her sons to look for her.
The boy searched the building and later looked into the staircase duct, where he saw a child lying on the ground floor. He alerted his mother, according to the relative. Residents then took the injured toddler to a doctor, but she could not be revived.
Police said they began examining the circumstances after registering the accidental death record and later retrieved CCTV footage from the housing society. The footage, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police Gajanan Rajmane, shows a 10-year-old girl living on the same floor lifting the toddler and pushing her into the duct area.
The older child and her family had reportedly moved into the society about a fortnight before the incident. Police have not registered an FIR so far. The Child Welfare Commission will conduct inquiries with the 10-year-old and take a decision, police said.
The case places the role of CCTV and building-level evidence at the centre of the investigation. It also highlights the risks posed by open or accessible staircase ducts in residential buildings, although police have not attributed the incident to any structural defect or established how the children came to be in the area.
Further investigation is in progress. Police are awaiting the post-mortem findings and the Child Welfare Commission’s decision on the next steps concerning the 10-year-old.
