Woman jumps off building, lands on 'safety net'

A 46-year-old woman was lucky to escape unhurt when she jumped off the third floor of her house after a heated argument with her husband on Friday and landed on a blanket held by police officers on the ground. A sub-inspector posted with a police control  room van was injured in the incident.

Mahima Bhandari, a resident of west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, is a homemaker and lives with her two sons. Police said she separated from her husband Deepak around 12-13 years ago. Deepak, a property dealer, lives in south Delhi’s Sainik Farms.

“On Friday, Deepak had gone to Punjabi Bagh to talk to Mahima. However, she was not ready to talk to him and refused to open the main gate,” a police officer said. At that time, Mahima’s 16-year-old son and a domestic help were also at home. Deepak asked the other two to open the gate, but Mahima was against it.

Due to the commotion, neighbours had also informed police. Soon, a PCR van staff and local police reached the spot. “Mahima even threatened to jump off the third floor if Deepak did not return,” the officer added.

In a fit of rage, Mahima jumped off the balcony of her third floor house around 5.30 pm. She was, however, lucky as the staff of the PCR van and some locals were holding up a stretched blanket. “They managed to catch and save her life,” the officer said.

Sub-Inspector injured

The PCR van staff have been identified as Sub-Inspector Sukhbir Singh and constables Devi Sahay and Ajay Singh. Sukhbir sustained a minor injury on his shoulder, but did not require medical aid.

Both Mahima and Deepak have told police that they separated due to domestic violence and Deepak has been trying to negotiate for a reunion. Mahima’s 21-year-old elder son is an engineer and works with a private company in Gurgaon.