A 26-year-old pilot had a fatal fall in a Rajarhat housing complex where he lived in a sixth-floor studio apartment.

Karthik Poda, employed with budget airline SpiceJet, was spotted by a guard of Xanadu World complex near Derozio College in Rajarhat around 4am, lying unconscious in a pool of blood on the pathway at the rear of the housing estate.

The guard alerted the police who took him to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

According to doctors, several ribs and bones in the face, head, hands and legs were broken, suggesting Poda had fallen from a height.

Police investigating the case suspect the youth had accidentally slipped from his apartment balcony, which has low railing.

An officer said the collapsible gate at the apartment's entrance was locked from inside. The main door, which has an automatic lock, was bolted, too.

"We have found a bottle of liquor and soda, cigarette butts, a pouch of ganja and an ice-cube container on a table at the balcony and pieces of a broken glass around his body," said an officer of the Bidhannagar Commissionerate.

"Circumstantial evidence suggest the youth possibly slipped from the balcony and fell on the ground around 100ft below. The post mortem report has revealed traces of alcohol in his stomach," he said.

"The man was around 6ft tall. It is possible that he accidentally slipped and fell over the railing," the officer said.

The police have already handed over the body to Poda's family members, who came to Calcutta from Hyderabad on Sunday afternoon. "We have handed over the body to his father. He has not lodged any murder complaint. We have started a case of unnatural death and are probing the incident," said the officer.

Originally from Hyderabad, Poda had been with SpiceJet for two-and-a-half years. His father Vijay Shekhar Poda had retired from SpiceJet as a senior captain last year.

"Karthik had a promising career," a statement issued by the airline read.

The police said he had taken the Rajarhat flat on rent six months ago. He had a rented apartment in Delhi, too.

Sleuths have questioned the guards and residents of the complex to know whether someone had visited Karthik's flat on Saturday night.

"We have learnt that a lady had come to meet him on Saturday and left late at night. We came to know her name and phone number from the register of the complex and spoke to her on Sunday evening," said an investigating officer.

Body found

The body of a 17-year-old girl was found at her home at Rathtala in Sonarpur on the southern fringe of the city on Monday. Piu Das, a Class XII student, was taken to the Subhasgram Rural Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

Minor hurt

Sanchita Patra, 5, was hit by a motorcycle when she was crossing the road near Falguni Abasan in Salt Lake's Duttabad. The motorcyclist rushed her to Bidhannagar Sub-divisional Hospital, from where she was taken to RG Kar hospital.