A man, whom police believe was mentally ill, died after he jumped from the second floor at Spencer Plaza late on Monday morning.
This is the second case of a death at a mall this month — on July 1, a 23-year-old IT professional committed suicide by jumping off the third floor at Express Avenue.
According to police, the victim has been identified as Kishore Kumar (30), a resident of Veppampattu.
The incident occurred around noon. There wasn’t much of a crowd at Spencer Plaza then, especially near the third phase. Most shopkeepers were outside their shops, talking to each other. Security guards were near the escalators, keeping a watch and ensuring that no one stood near the railings for too long.
At this point, a young man, who was near the food court on the second floor, came and stood next to the escalator.
“He was fair and wore an off-white shirt. We assumed he was going to descend on the escalator. Suddenly, he climbed over the railing and jumped. He fell near an artificial tree on the ground floor,” said one of the security guards.
Several shopkeepers and staff at the mall also witnessed the incident, which is suspected to be a suicide.
“I heard loud cries from the ground floor of the third phase. I rushed there to find out what had happened and I saw a youngster lying in a pool of blood,” said a shopkeeper, who runs an outlet in phase three.
One mall employee said she had heard something that sounded like a heavy object falling. “I saw a man who was badly injured. He was crying out. We immediately alerted the police. He was rushed to Government Royapettah Hospital,” she said.
Inspector Kandavel of the Thousand Lights police station said the victim had completed his B.Com and was working at a private crane company.
“When we spoke to him at the hospital, he gave us a fake address. He kept saying that his parents had been murdered. We found his real name and address on his voter ID card. He also had a company identity card on him,” said the inspector.
Around 3.30 p.m. on Monday, Kumar succumbed to his injuries, police said.
A case has been registered and an investigation is on.
This article has been edited for a spelling error.
