Lucknow: A 27-year-old cafe owner died following a fall from the fourth floor of an apartment building in Lucknow, prompting his grieving family to accuse his live-in partner and her sister of holding him captive, subjecting him to severe torture, and throwing him from the structure. Authorities have officially registered a case and initiated a comprehensive investigation to determine the exact sequence of events leading to the fatality.
The deceased individual, identified as Shiva Sharma, operated a local cafe in the area. The tragic event unfolded on a Friday night at the Awadh Green Apartment, leaving local law enforcement tasked with establishing whether the young man's death was a fatal accident or the consequence of a violent assault.
According to a statement provided by Sharma's mother, Ranjana Sharma, she received an evening telephone call from a woman named Rashmi Dubey. The caller claimed that Shiva had been involved in an accident and was being transported to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
Upon rushing to the medical facility, the family was unable to locate him. Following an exhaustive search lasting roughly an hour and a half, relatives discovered that he had instead been redirected to the emergency department of a medical college. Upon arriving there, the family spotted a driver named Danish near the ambulance transporting the injured man. Relatives asserted that Danish had previously contacted them while using the alias Saurav Kashyap.
Observing the family's arrival, Danish allegedly fled the scene, abandoning both the critically injured man and the vehicle. The ambulance operator reportedly informed the family that he had spent the preceding three hours transporting the wounded man back and forth between Lohia Hospital and the medical college. Medical professionals subsequently examined Sharma and pronounced him dead upon arrival.
Shiva's mother raised serious allegations of physical abuse, claiming her son had been detained against his will and severely beaten prior to his fatal fall. She stated that his remains displayed extensive trauma, including fractures to both eyes, his jaw, ribs, and a leg, alongside bleeding from his nose and ears.
Furthermore, the family pointed to visible cigarette burns and numerous scratches scattered across his skin, arguing that these signs indicated prolonged physical abuse. Relatives also asserted that Shraddha Dubey had been harassing the cafe owner for several months, reportedly resorting to physical assaults and threats of fabricating legal charges or ruining his reputation.
Approximately a week prior to the incident, the woman allegedly confronted the family at their shop, demanding that they turn Shiva over to her and issuing warnings of severe repercussions if they refused. The family further claimed that associates of the accused parties had been monitoring their residence and business establishment.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Verma confirmed that the 27-year-old suffered a fatal fall from the fourth floor of the residential complex. He verified that a formal complaint filed by the family has resulted in a case being registered under appropriate legal provisions. Investigators are currently analyzing forensic evidence and technical data to uncover whether Sharma was deliberately pushed from the building or if other circumstances were involved.