Sept. 1: The BPO employee who was found dead in the 10th-floor fire refuge area of Godrej Waterside in Sector V on Wednesday evening had stepped out of his 13th-floor office alone minutes before he was found dead, police said today.

CCTV footage captured by security cameras installed in the lobby show Avishek Bauri, 25, walking alone towards the fire exit that leads to the balcony on the 13th floor, an officer of the Bidhannagar Commissionerate said.

"We have scanned the CCTV footage of the lobby area. He was not accompanied by anybody as he headed towards the fire refuge area," the officer said.

According to the officer, there are no CCTV cameras installed on the fire assembly balconies, making it difficult to confirm whether there was anyone else in balcony from where Avishek fell. The officer said it is still not clear whether the fall was suicidal, homicidal or accidental.

The preliminary post- mortem report has confirmed Avishek died of injuries sustained after a fall from height. He had broken his right hand. His right leg was broken near the thigh and he had an injury on the right side of his head that led to severe blood loss.

"The fire refuge has low walls and it is not impossible for someone to fall accidentally," the officer said.

Another officer said police had spoken to a witness who claims to have seen Avishek fall and heard a thud immediately afterwards. "The witness was on another balcony and told us that she saw a blur of motion followed by a loud thud."

The cops have questioned Avishek's colleagues who were in the building when he fell. They have also checked Avishek's phone but he does not seem to have made any "unusual" calls right before his death. "Till now we have little reason to believe that Avishek was in a state of distress," said the officer.

Since Avishek's brother Vivek has claimed he didn't smoke, investigators are still wondering why he had stepped out in the fire refuge area. Vivek lodged a murder complaint with the Electronics Complex police station yesterday.