News anchor falls to death from fourth floor in Noida, kin allege murder

NOIDA: A 25-year-old anchor with a national news channel died after she allegedly fell from the fourth floor of a high-rise society in Sector 77, Noida, on Friday morning. Police said she was drinking with her senior colleague before she allegedly fell to her death around 3.30am. However, the family and friends of the deceased claimed that she was murdered.
Radhika Kaushik, originally from Jaipur, lived on rent in a flat in the N-Tower of Antriksh Forest Apartments.“We found bottles of liquor in the room,” said police. Girija Shankar Tripathi, the SHO of Sector 49 police station said, “Rahul Awasthi, senior anchor and Radhika’s colleague, was with her. Police have detained him for questioning.”
Awasthi has been working as a senior news anchor with the same organisation for the past five years. He is married and has a four-month-old daughter. He is originally from Udaipur and currently lives in Jaypee Kosmos in Sector 134, Noida. During interrogation, Awasthi told police that he was in the toilet when Radhika fell from the balcony.
Anushka Dutta, Radhika’s flatemate said, “I do not think she killed herself or fell from the balcony. Awasthi is the only person who could have killed her,” she said. Yogesh Kaushik, Radhika’s father, told TOI, that he had lodged a complaint with police against Rahul. A case has been registered against Awasthi under IPC Section 302 (punishment for murder).
-BY Avishek Kumar Dubey