A man died after falling from a third-floor apartment in north Calcutta from where he was allegedly trying to flee as police were knocking on the door.

The incident happened on Saturday night inside a housing complex in Chitpore, where the man — identified as Abdul Hossain, alias Shentia – was staying in his employer’s apartment.

Police said Hossain and a few of his colleagues, who too were employed by the flat owner, were drinking in the apartment when a brawl broke out. The fight spilled outside the flat, prompting guards of the complex to intervene.

Hossain ran inside the flat and locked the door. A team from Chitpore police station, which reached the spot following an alert from residents, found the flat locked from inside.

“When cops knocked on the door, Hossain tried to slip out of the balcony using a curtain. But he soon lost grip and tried to hang on to a nylon rope. But he lost grip again and fell on the lawn,” said an officer.

Hossain was taken to RG Kar hospital, where he was declared dead.