Bengaluru police register UDR in C.J. Roy’s death, to probe ‘suspicious death’ angle

Bengaluru police investigate businessman C.J. Roy's death, registering an Unnatural Death Report amid allegations of pressure from tax raids.

Bengaluru police on Friday registered an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) in the death of businessman C.J. Roy, who allegedly shot himself at his office while Income Tax officials were completing raid formalities, even as his family blamed pressure from the raids for the incident.

C.J. Babu, brother of Mr. Roy, blamed Income Tax officials for the death following the incident. However, T.A. Joseph, managing director of the Confident Group, who lodged the complaint, did not directly blame or implicate the I-T Department, though he mentioned past raids and expressed suspicion, sources said.

The Ashok Nagar police have registered the UDR under Section 194(3)(4) of BNSS, 2023, which mandates police investigation into suspicious, accidental, or suicidal deaths.

In his complaint, Mr. Joseph stated that Mr. Roy had gone with him to the office to record his statement with the I-T Department, after which they went to his cabin. A few minutes later, Mr. Roy said he wanted to speak to his mother. When Mr. Joseph returned after 10 minutes, the security guard outside the cabin told him that Mr. Roy had instructed him not to allow anyone inside.

However, when Mr. Roy did not come out for more than 20 minutes and did not respond to calls, people in the office broke open the door and found him dead on his chair.

Police sources said Mr. Roy shot himself by placing a pistol to his chest. The incident occurred between 3 p.m. and 3.15 p.m. on Friday. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him “brought dead”.