Arun Raghavan is a Malayali journalist based in Dubai. In November 2025, he met real estate developer CJ Roy at an event. Roy expressed his desire to be featured in Arun’s popular podcast called ‘Editoreal’. The interview was arranged within weeks, with Roy’s palatial house in Dubai as the venue. And in the house, it was finally shot at the place of Roy’s choice — between his two Rolls-Royces in his garage lined with high-end cars.
In the interview, Roy was his exuberant self, talking about his childhood, youth and his successes. He also spoke about death and other topics that Arun never expected him to touch upon.
As agreed, Arun uploaded the podcast on December 5 and sent a collaboration request on Instagram to Roy, which he accepted. Later that evening, Roy requested him to remove the video. "He said he had cancelled a scheduled meeting with some of his clients, citing the ill health of his wife, and it wouldn't look good to appear on a podcast at that time. I agreed and removed the video. Later, I told him I wasn’t convinced that this was the real reason. Then he told me that an ED (Enforcement Directorate) raid was underway, and he did not want to invite any trouble. He mentioned ED, not I-T. By December 15, he contacted me again and asked me to upload the podcast. This time he did not accept the collaboration," Arun said.
Twice after that, Roy asked Arun to meet him but then cancelled it, citing unexpected travel. When Arun asked if he was alright, Roy said that he had to submit numerous documents as part of the ED raid.
That turned out to be the final interview of Roy, founder and chairman of Confident Group. Roy shot himself in his office, using his Austria-made revolver, during a raid by Income Tax (I-T) Department officials in Bengaluru on January 30.
Kerala-born Chiriankandath Joseph Roy was 57 and a well-known name in the real estate and entertainment sector in both Kerala and Karnataka. He was the face and mascot of the group, which wore ‘confidence’ on its sleeve. Roy’s decision to end his life has sparked debates on a wide range of issues, including alleged harassment by government agencies, fund embezzlement, a collapsing empire and mental health.
TNM’s review of the financials of five companies under the Confident Group umbrella shows that the group’s financials were not in the red, but weren’t as flourishing as Roy wanted the world to see through his fleet of luxury cars and a private jet.
What makes Roy’s behaviour in the past few months particularly puzzling is his sudden decision to withdraw a plea seeking to have the I-T searches at his offices declared illegal, arbitrary, and without jurisdiction. A nine-page note he wrote to his family, along with a visit to a psychiatrist a few days before his death, has added to the questions about what led to Roy’s death by suicide.
Events leading up to his death
On December 3, 2025, the I-T Department conducted coordinated searches at offices linked to Roy in Kochi and Bengaluru. At the time, Roy was reportedly abroad. On December 16, following what his counsel described as a “massive raid,” Roy moved the Karnataka High Court, challenging the legality of the searches.
Roy argued that the raids were unauthorised, pointing out that they had been initiated by I-T officials from Kochi even though his primary business entities were assessed and based in Bengaluru.