Co-worker Arrested After TV News Anchor ‘Fell’ to Death in Noida

Radhika Kaushik worked for Zee Rajasthan as a news anchor. Police is still investigating the case.

File image of Radhika Kaushik. 

(Photo: Facebook/Radhika Kaushik)

Days after TV news anchor Radhika Kaushik ‘fell’ to her death from her balcony of her fourth floor Noida residence, police have arrested her colleague Rahul Awasthi, who was in her flat at the time of the incident.

Awasthi, who was earlier detained for questioning by the Noida police, had said he was in the washroom when Kaushik fell from the balcony.

“We have found some loopholes in his statement. Also, one of the security guards of the building had seen the duo standing in the balcony just minutes before Radhika fell,” said Shwetabh Pandey, circle officer 3, Noida police told Hindustan Times.

Kaushik, 27, who worked with Zee Rajasthan, was staying in a rented apartment in Noida sector 77. She was found dead after allegedly falling from her building.

Even though an FIR had been registered against Awasthi after Kaushik’s family filed a murder complaint, based on the available evidence, Awasthi has been booked under Section 304 (culpable homicide). Police said according to preliminary investigation, it doesn’t look like murder, but Awasthi definitely had a role to play in the incident.

According to police, both Kaushik and colleague Awasthi were in an inebriated state and had an argument after which Kaushik allegedly jumped off the building. Police also recovered bottles of alcohol from Kaushik’s place.

Awasthi told police that around 3:45 am, she received a call that soon turned into a heated argument, and he was in the bathroom during that conversation. He added that after this, he heard a sound of ‘someone falling’. He could not find her in the apartment and saw her body lying on the ground later.

Police confirmed that some important information has been obtained from Kaushik’s phone, and that her body has been sent for postmortem. The investigation is underway.

(The story was first published in Quint Hindi)