Businessman, Producer CJ Roy Dies by Suicide during IT Raid

Confident Group Chairman and Bigg Boss sponsor Dr Chiriankandath Joseph Roy shot himself in the head at his office in Central Bengaluru on Friday, even as the Income Tax officials were on the premises.

Popularly known as CJ Roy, the Kochi-based businessman had parked investments in multiple sectors. He was running Kerala’s leading real estate firms, produced several films, and sponsored popular TV shows like Bigg Boss Kannada and Malayalam. Roy’s company was the title sponsor of Bigg Boss Malayalam, hosted by Mohanlal, for several seasons.

His death reminds of Cafe Coffee Day owner V G Siddhartha, who also died by suicide in 2019. He went missing near a river and his body was found in the Netravati river after a few days. Police said that he drowned in the water.

Siddhartha reportedly ended his life due to pressure from money lenders as he had borrowed heavily and also alleged harassment from the income tax authorities. CCD is India’s largest coffee chain which faced a massive liquidity crunch and debt exceeding Rs 7,000 crore.

The reasons behind Roy’s death are yet to be ascertained.

In a message on the Confident Group website, Roy claims that it is a 19-year-old conglomerate with multiple business interests across different nations, including India, USA and UAE.

“We also have the pride of designing and delivering multiple well-appreciated real-estate projects and products across Bangalore, Kerala and Dubai.”

Despite having reputation in the business circles, particularly in the real estate, Roy had taken the extreme step, shaking several entrepreneurs.

In 2012, Roy produced Mohanlal’s big budget film, Casanova. He also co-produced Marakkar, a multi-language Mohanlal film directed by Priyadarshan.