BENGALURU: The circumstances that led Confident Group owner Roy Chiriankandath Joseph, popularly known as CJ Roy, to take his life are still under investigation, even as his family has blamed income tax officials from Kerala for his death. Roy had an active Instagram presence with 1.3 million followers even though he had disabled the comment section. His last post was a wish for Republic Day where he said, ‘ A Very Happy Republic Day’, with a big smile on his face, wearing a blue blazer. It garnered close to 5 lakh views. He posted actively on his cars and choppers, his travel stories, his time with his family (wife and two kids) and his real estate projects.Roy’s brother, CJ Babu, who owns WhiteGold, told the media that a team of I-T officials from Kerala had been conducting searches in Bengaluru for the past three days. “He shot himself with a pistol. The I-T officials are solely responsible for his death,” Babu alleged.According to him, although Roy’s family was based in Dubai, he returned to Bengaluru after being asked by I-T sleuths to be present here. The family is expected to arrive in the city early Saturday.Roy, 57, who was promoting several upscale real estate projects in Kerala, came under the I-T scanner amid an intensified crackdown on builders. A team from Kerala conducted searches at his premises on Dec 3 and 6 and again on Jan 28.SPARKING FLAT SALESAccording to CJ Roy, his first purchase comprised two pieces of land in Kakkanad, Kerala. While 100 flats were designed and much was spent on roadshows, there were zero sales. But a chance encounter in Mumbai with an executive of aMalayalam TV channel led him to offer his flat as the prize to the winner of a reality show. He became the show’s brand ambassador and became the talk of the town. The popularity led to flat sales soon after.
