Vijayan Demands Judicial Probe into Realtor's Tragic Death Amid I-T Raid

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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, calling for a judicial inquiry into the death of Confident Group chairman CJ Roy, who took his own life while Income Tax officials were conducting a search operation at his Bengaluru office on January 30. The 45-year-old Kerala-born industrialist and film producer was found dead with a gunshot wound, sparking shockwaves in the business community and civil society in the state. Vijayan expressed surprise that the tax officials failed to prevent Roy's access to a loaded gun during the search operation, which he deemed a 'blot on the tax administration of the country.' He pointed to serious lapses by the I-T officials, citing the brother's allegations of 'unbearable trouble' caused by the officials. Vijayan believes an impartial inquiry is necessary to examine the procedures taken during the search operation and prevent similar incidents in the future. He recommended that the inquiry be headed by a retired constitutional court judge. A separate investigation is underway by a special investigation team of the Karnataka police.