Confident Group founder and chairman CJ Roy was found dead at his residence-cum-office in central Bengaluru on Friday, even as Income-Tax officials were carrying out searches linked to his company. Police said the case is being treated, prima facie, as a suicide, though multiple angles remain under investigation.
Roy’s death sent shockwaves through the real estate and film industries, given his prominence as a luxury housing developer and his close ties with Malayalam cinema.
According to police officials familiar with the sequence of events, Roy was inside his first-floor office chamber when the incident occurred. Income-Tax officials had been questioning him as part of searches related to the Confident Group.
One police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the searches had been underway for three days. On Friday, Roy was questioned between 12 pm and 1 pm. The officer said that by around 3.15 pm, the questioning had concluded and Roy mentioned he would call his family before returning. He then went into another room and shot himself.
Officials present at the premises reported hearing a gunshot and immediately rushing in. The 57-year-old businessman, who had sustained a bullet injury to the left side of his chest, was rushed to a private hospital and later shifted to Narayana Hospital in HSR Layout. He was declared dead on arrival, deputy commissioner of police (Central) Akshay Hakay confirmed.
Roy’s brother, CJ Babu, alleged that the prolonged Income-Tax searches and questioning had driven his brother to take the extreme step. He claimed that the team conducting the operation had come from Kerala and that the pressure exerted during the three-day exercise was “unbearable”, as per Deccan Chronicle.
Family members said Roy had returned from Dubai after learning about searches connected to a raid in Kerala last month. On Friday, he reached his office around 2 pm and was questioned for nearly 90 minutes. After the interrogation, officials allegedly asked him to produce certain documents. Roy reportedly went to his chamber saying he would retrieve them but returned with a pistol and shot himself in his cabin.
Police confirmed that the Income-Tax department was conducting coordinated searches at multiple locations associated with the Confident Group, which has projects across Bengaluru and Kerala. The company has previously been involved in tax disputes and appeals before the Karnataka High Court and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
Commissioner Singh acknowledged that questioning had been ongoing for three days. Originally from Kochi, Roy also had a notable presence in the Malayalam film industry. He produced films including the 2012 Mohanlal-starrer Casanova, and the Confident Group served as title sponsor for several seasons of Bigg Boss Malayalam.
