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

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.

The incident

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”.

Investigations revealed that Mr. Roy possessed a licensed pistol, which he used. The firearm has been sent for a ballistics test. Police have seized Mr. Roy’s mobile phones. No death note was found inside the cabin.

Came to Bengaluru to record statement

Mr. Roy, who was based in Dubai, had visited Bengaluru three days prior to the incident following a summons from the Income Tax Department to record his statement in connection with the raids on his company.

Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said the I-T Department had conducted raids on Mr. Roy’s company in December 2025. “They (I-T officials) were apparently required to mandatorily complete the chargesheet process within 60 days. Therefore, they wanted to finalise everything before February 4,” he said.

Mr. Parameshwara said he had directed the police to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the events before and after the incident and to examine what prompted Mr. Roy to take the extreme step. He said that the police would decide whether to summon I-T officials based on what emerges from the investigation.

Mr. Babu told mediapersons that his brother had no enemies, had not received any death threats, and was not suffering from depression. He added that the only issue he was aware of was the investigation by the I-T Department.

Meanwhile, several politicians have alleged that targeted raids by the I-T Department created fear and amounted to “harassment”. However, Mr. Parameshwara said this has not yet been established and therefore cannot be speculated upon.

(If you are in distress or having suicidal tendencies, please reach out to these 24/7 helplines: KIRAN at 1800-599-0019 or Arogya Sahayavani at 104 for help.)