Cover high-rise windows, terraces: Mumbai resident

Aspiring engineer Hazequa Kapadia at her residence in Nagpada. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

I urge all housing society members to please install grills so that mishaps don't happen," said Hazequa Kapadia, 15, a Nagpada resident who sustained injuries to her brain after a frying pan fell on her head from the 22-storey Danish Villa building in 2017. The incident is strikingly similar to the one that occurred on August 6, where a Labrador fell on a five-year-old Mumbra girl, killing her.

Hazequa, who recently scored 82 per cent in the SSC examination and aspires to be an engineer, has been conferred two bravery awards by the community. The girl's aunt said that her skull injury didn't stop her from doing daily activities and being a favourite of teachers at Agripada's St Joseph's high school where she studied.

‘Tried out best'

Speaking about the incident that occurred seven years ago, an officer attached to the Nagpada police station said, "The iron frying pan was suspected to have fallen from the 15th or 16th floor of Danish Villa on March 31, 2017. It's a miracle that the girl, who was 8 years old at the time, survived. We tried our best to find out if someone had thrown the pan but couldn't find a suspect."

The now 15-year-old at the spot where she was seriously injured seven years ago

According to Kapadia, she was returning home from tuition classes when the incident took place. "I was with my best friend when the pan hit me and I fell unconscious. When I woke up, I was in the hospital," Hazequa said. A shopkeeper who plies his trade near Danish Villa said, "I remember all of us rushing the girl to the hospital as soon as she was struck. It was a horrific incident." Kapadia was shifted to Nair hospital initially, but then she was then moved to Bombay Hospital.

Nazma Kapadia, Hazequa's paternal aunt, said, "She was in bad shape as the frying pan had hit her skull and she had to undergo brain surgery. She was in hospital for two months and the doctors think that it's a miracle that she survived."

Change in behaviour

After being discharged, Hazequa's behaviour changed. "She became aggressive. She would tear her friends' notebooks. But her school did not suspend her and allowed me to accompany her in class for a year. I thank St Joseph's high school for understanding her situation," Nazma said. The girl's aunt credited physiotherapy sessions for her recovery. "I underwent aqua therapy at the YMCA. It helped me recover. Now, I am completely fine," Hazequa said.

Hazequa, due to her trauma, shuns the spot where she was injured. "I was famously known as the ‘tawa girl' and I hated that nickname. Whenever people called me that, I corrected them, stating that I am a miracle," she said. Her aunt added, "Sometimes, she faces problems coordinating between her hands and legs. This is the consequence of someone else's negligence. People often don't install grills on their windows and place sharp objects on the sills. This could be dangerous."

The investigation

The Kapadia family is still clueless about who threw the pan from the building and awaits justice. The Nagpada police registered an FIR against an unknown person and tried to conduct fingerprint analysis on the frying pan, but the reports were inconclusive. The girl's father Faizan Kapadia has stated that he had forgiven the culprit, but he still urges the person responsible to come forward and own up.