Five days after 29-year-old pianist, Karan Joseph jumped to his death from Bandra's Concorde building, Mumbai police continue probing the involvement of Karan’s flatmate, Rishi Shah. While the police still await the forensic report of Karan's mobile phone that is being checked for messages that could provide leads to help the investigation, his friends have submitted a written statement to the police.
According to the six page application submitted to the Bandra police, Karan’s friends and fellow musicians have claimed that they have proof that Rishi Shah emotionally, verbally and sometimes physically abused Karan and abetted his suicide.
Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Karan Joseph’s friend said “Rishi is nefarious to work with and mentally unbalanced. He is prone to bursts of anger, aggression and ego-centric behaviour”.
Karan Joseph, a Bangalore based musician, had moved to Mumbai a month ago. While in the city, he moved in with Rishi Shah, the CEO of Crossbones Media which publishes Rave magazine that features musicians. On 9 September at about 8:30 am, Karan jumped off the 12th floor of Shah’s apartment. At the time of the incident, Rishi Shah, his friend Suzana and his domestic help Vinod were at home. Shah claimed that Karan looked him in the eye as he jumped to his death.
According to reports, in his statement to the police, Shah said, “Karan arrived at my house around 7.30 am. My friend Suzana from Australia and I were home then; she was asleep. Around 8, she woke up and joined us. We were listening to music and chit-chatting. Karan told me that last night he was at a party at his friend Tej Brar's house, where Sohail and Varun and 10 to 15 other friends were present, and they all were upset with him (Karan). I told him to not take these things seriously and to enjoy the music. My domestic help got us juice then. Karan went and sat by the window with one leg hanging outside. And before I could think or even do anything, he jumped."
Karan’s friends however, have blamed Rishi Shah for his death. Apart from claiming that Shah emotionally and physically abused the young musician, some have even claimed that Rishi Shah got Karan hooked to drugs in a bid to control him.
A report in Mid-Day quotes a friend of Karan stating that the pianist had messaged a friend saying that he was in urgent need of help as he was being beaten up on Saturday morning. He however did not name the person who was beating him up.
While the police probe is yet to reveal the reason behind his death, certain disturbing details have now emerged that could help the police in the investigation. According to reports, a woman living in a flat below Rishi Shah’s told the police that she allegedly saw Karan dangling from the ledge of the 12th floor just four days before his death. She claimed it looked like someone had a leash clipped to the loop of his trousers.
In a report by the Times of India, the neighbour told the police that after she heard a lot of screaming from outside, she looked to see a “thin bald boy” close to the ledge of the 12 floor balcony and she was afraid that “he could have fallen any moment”. Rishi Shah's landlord was informed about the incident.
While the police probe is yet to reveal the reason behind his death, friends and fans of Karan have been expressing their shock over his death on social media.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)