By IANS,
Hyderabad: An 18-year-old girl who was injured after allegedly being pushed down from the historic Charminar by her ‘boyfriend’ died Friday, police said.
Police said Sameera, a resident of Talabkutta neighbourhood in the old city, succumbed to her injuries Friday at the government-run Osmania General Hospital.
Doctors said the girl had sustained head injuries and both her legs and a hand were fractured.
Meanwhile, police have arrested Arshad, who had escaped after allegedly pushing the girl down from the first floor of the monument Thursday evening.
Sameera had told police Thursday night that Arshad pushed her. She had replied in affirmative when asked if he was her boyfriend.
Sameera’s family members, however, alleged that Arshad was a financer and was exploiting her to recover a loan he had given to her parents. They also alleged that he had kept the girl in his custody for four days to recover the loan.
Sameera’s father Mohammed Yousuf, a petty vendor, had taken a loan of Rs.6,000 from Arshad a few months ago and this, with interest, had increased to Rs.14,000.
Police booked a case of murder against Arshad after Sameera recorded her statement in the hospital. Eyewitnesses also confirmed that she was pushed down by a boy during an argument between the two.
Police were also investigating the case with the help of footage from closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed around the monument.
This is the third such incident at Charminar, the symbol of Hyderabad.
Driven by poverty, three sisters had committed suicide by jumping from the monument in 1985. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had closed the monument for public after this incident.
The authorities re-opened it in 2003. A woman had committed suicide by jumping off the monument in 2005.