A 44-year-old man and his one-and-a half-year old daughter fell from the terrace of a four-storey building while playing, causing instant death of the father.

The child, who has no apparent external injury mark, is suspected to have suffered internal injuries and has been admitted at SSKM Hospital in an unconscious state, police said.

Subhas Chandra Panda, a resident of Baishalakshmitala Road at Parnasree, was a railway employee.

Investigators said the father of two was playing with the little girl with a ball when they fell off the terrace.

“A plastic ball has been found on the terrace. The man had fallen around two feet from the child. From the position of his body on the ground and the way the child fell, it looks like the man was carrying the child in his arms when he lost balance and fell over the parapet,” said an officer of Parnasree police station.

The incident happened around 11.35am when a fruit vendor in front of the building heard a loud thud and found Panda lying a few feet away, near the boundary wall of the building.

“His head was completely smashed. He was taken to Vidyasagar State General Hospital, where he was declared dead,” an investigator said.

A search was launched for the child, who was spotted lying unconscious on the other side of the wall.

Police officers who visited the spot said the parapet was only two-and-a-half-feet high.

No evidence of any third person having been present on the terrace when the two fell emerged till Saturday evening.

Apart from the daughter, Panda leaves behind his wife and a 13-year-old son.

Panda’s body has been sent for post-mortem. An unnatural death case has been registered at Parnasree police station.