Ranchi: A 16-year-old boy died after falling off the terrace of his three-storey house in Lalpur area of the state capital early on Tuesday, with neighbours hinting at suicide but police inclined on believing it was an accident.

Ankit Singh, a Class XI student of Oxford Public School, was found in a puddle of blood on the ground around 5am by an inmate of a girls' hostel in the same building at Lohra Kocha. She was going to the washroom when she saw him and informed his parents.

Lalpur thana OC Ramod Kumar Singh said preliminary investigations suggested that the boy tripped over the guard rail while talking over phone. "He was perhaps sitting on the rail. It is an accident. An unnatural death case has been registered and the body sent to RIMS for autopsy," the officer said.

Residents, however, called Ankit's death a suicide.

"The boy was upset over something for a few days. He went to bed after 1am and was online on WhatsApp till 2.40am. He spoke to someone over phone and then deleted all numbers from the phonebook before he jumped off the terrace," said a neighbour who claimed to have seen Ankit's cellphone before it was seized by police.

The boy's parents - Abhay Singh and Kiran Singh, who run the 40-bed hostel for girls - did not speak to the media. His brother is a Class VIII student of DAV Kapil Dev in Kadru.

"My uncle and others are at Harmu ghat for last rites. My aunt is not in a position to talk," said one of Ankit's cousins who is visiting from Siwan, Bihar.

A shopkeeper who knew the boy said he was friendly by nature and had a sense of humour. "We often shared a joke or two. I can't believe Ankit is no more," the man said.

Should parents monitor teenagers' phone habits? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com