A six-year-old boy died after he toppled over the handrail of the staircase on the fifth floor of a building inside the Ballygunge Maidan Camp of the army on the Ballygunge Circular Road and landed on the ground floor on Saturday night.

Yogesh Nayak was declared dead at a hospital.

According to police, Yogesh was playing with his eight-year-old sister at the staircase at the time of the accident.

He was trying to slide down the staircase’s handrail playfully, the police said.

The incident happened around 9.30 pm on Saturday at Jamuna Building inside the army campus. Police said Yogesh’s father worked as an attendant of an army officer and stayed in an accommodation inside the building.

Police said an unnatural death case has been started with Ballygunge police station. “No foul play has been found till now,” said an officer at the Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar.

Yogesh and his elder sister Sakshi, 8, were playing at the staircase while their parents were inside, the police said.

A preliminary inquiry by the police revealed that the child was sliding down the railing of the staircase when he accidentally fell through the stairwell and landed on the ground floor. He was taken to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital with serious head injuries, where he was declared dead.

The family is originally from Tiljala, police said.

“A tragic incident occurred approximately at 9.30pm, yesterday (Saturday) on July 6 2024, in the Ballygunge Military Camp, Jamuna Building accommodation. A young boy, approximately 6 years old, was playing on the stairs of the fifth floor of the said building. The child suffered a fall from the stairs and sustained severe head injuries,” read a statement issued on Sunday by the spokesperson of the Eastern Command.

“Emergency services were promptly alerted, activated and the child was immediately rushed to Chittaranjan Hospital (Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital), which was closest to BMC, for medical treatment. Despite the best efforts of the doctors, the boy was pronounced dead on arrival,” the statement read.

“The family of the deceased child was residing in the building during the unfortunate incident. The authorities are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances that led to this unfortunate accident. Further details will be provided as the investigation progresses. The community is urged to respect the bereaved family’s privacy in the aftermath of this unfortunate incident,” it stated.

A team of officers from Ballygunge police station visited the spot on Saturday night. The body has been sent for post-mortem. “It appears like an accidental fall. No foul play has been detected. The family has not filed any complaints,” said an officer.

Calcutta has witnessed several such incidents of children falling off buildings and open windows in the past.

In 2001, a 10-year-old boy died when the elevator door he was said to be leaning against opened, sending him plummeting three floors down the lift shaft of the Ambassador Apartments on Park Street.

In 2011, a six-year-old boy who went to watch television at a neighbour’s house died after falling from the first floor of a building in Burrabazar. He went to the balcony unnoticed and climbed onto a pile of bags on the balcony. The child lost his balance and fell on the road.

In 2017, a four-and-a-half-year-old child left alone at home for a few hours fell five floors down to her death after slipping through a bedroom window at the Turf View Residential Complex overlooking the racecourse.

In 2023, a two-year-old boy died after falling off the balcony of their fifth-floor home at a premium housing complex opposite City Centre II in New Town.