Written by Upasika SinghalDecember 30, 2025 08:22 AM IST 4 min readSixteen-year-old Kavin Kumar died after falling through the fragile roof of a long-abandoned mall in North Delhi while allegedly trying to make social media reels.Moments before he fell to his death from the roof of a decrepit mall in North Delhi on Sunday, 16-year-old Kavin Kumar had allegedly sent a picture via Snapchat to his cousin. This snap — the picture of the domed roof of North Gate Orbit Plaza Mall, according to his cousin — became the Class XI student’s last message. He had climbed up on the rickety roof to make reels with his friends, said police.According to officers, Kumar and three of his friends tried to make their way to the mall’s terrace and crossed over from one side of the building to another. In their first attempt to cross the roof, the boys used the iron beams supporting the roof to put their weight on.Then, in an alleged attempt to impress his friends, according to the police, Kumar tried to cross over the domed roof a second time. However, this time, his foot fell dead centre on the fibreglass panel.The mall, where all the shops inside the premises have been abandoned since 2012, had evidently not been maintained and the fibreglass panel gave way. Moments later, Kumar had a fatal fall. While no FIR has been filed so far, the police are conducting an inquest into the death.On Monday afternoon, mall workers were still wiping the blood stains from the floor of the mall. According to a security guard working at the premises, who requested not to be named, the incident occurred around 5:30 pm on Sunday. “I was near the (front) gate and heard a loud noise…workers who work at the banquet hall upstairs began yelling that someone had fallen,” he said. Kumar was then rushed to Pentamed Hospital, where he was declared dead.However, Kumar’s family members claimed that they suspect foul play.“We received a call from a family friend that Kavin had been involved in an accident. Her son, who is also Kavin’s friend, had seen the crowd and police at the mall…he saw Kavin lying there on the floor,” claimed Munit Kumar, the boy’s paternal uncle. “All his friends ran away. The police were also called by the staff of a restaurant that’s inside the mall,” said the boy’s uncle.Story continues below this adSeveral members of Kavin’s family raised concerns if his friends may have had a role to play in the incident. Kavin’s cousin, Advik Kumar, is only a year older and went to the same school as Kavin. “I know those boys very well and they were not good company. I had warned Kavin to stop hanging out with them,” said Advik.According to Sudhir Kumar, Kavin’s other paternal uncle, he had left home, which was close to the mall, that evening saying that he would be going to play billiards with his friends. “Those boys are showing no remorse whatsoever. They have not even visited our house even once,” said Sudhir.Meanwhile, at the site of the incident, the two security guards who were present in the mall when Kavin fell claimed that the boys had not entered the mall from the main entryway. “There are many ways children can sneak in. There are entries from the back of the mall. We never saw them come in,” said one of the guards.Madan Sharma, who runs a broadband internet supply office in the mall, said around 5-7 shops are still open at the premises, including a restaurant. “Many children come in to run around the empty space, or perform stunts on bikes…some come to make reels too. I’m not surprised the children were able to go to the terrace. It (the doors) remain open most of the time,” he said. Officers said an investigation is underway.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:crime in delhi