Forensic report rules out poisoning in Karan Joseph suicide

Joseph was a leading keyboard player known for his jazz improvisations.

The Maharashtra Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) last week sent the viscera report to Mumbai police in the Karan Joseph suicide case, stating that nothing untoward was found in the viscera samples that were sent to them. The report ruled out any possibility of him being given any poisonous substance that would have led to his death. The police said that the forensic report confirmed that Joseph died due to falling from the 12th floor and was not killed earlier.

A Crime Branch official said: “We received the FSL report confirming that there was nothing found in his viscera samples that would have led to his death. Normally, if someone is administered a poisonous substance which would lead to the person’s death, it would be detected in the viscera report. In this case, the report is clear about not having found anything untoward in his viscera.”

A day after his suicide, Joseph’s post-mortem was carried out at the Cooper Hospital. The preliminary report suggested that he died due to multiple fractures and injuries. No physical assault had been found. The samples had been sent to FSL for viscera report. If the post-mortem report is not conclusive, a part of the viscera — vital body parts like heart, lungs, liver, kidney, spleen — is sent to the FSL for analysis.

The viscera is checked for the presence of poison. In cases of drowning, the report states if the person died due to drowning or the body was dumped in the water after the person was killed. In case the viscera report points to any foul play, a murder case is registered following which investigations begin or else no police action follows.

An officer said that they had also sent mobile phones of Joseph and three of his friends to the FSL to check if any messages had been deleted soon after the incident.

Karan Joseph, a pianist, committed suicide on September 9 by jumping from the 12th floor of Concorde apartment in Bandra (West), where he had been residing for the past month. The apartment belongs to Rishi Shah, the CEO of Crossbones media, who later faced allegations of having driven Joseph to commit suicide by harassing him. On September 11, following various allegations made by Joseph’s friends and family, the Bandra police registered an FIR on charges of abetment to suicide against unknown persons and began probing the case.

The family members of Joseph were, however, not satisfied with the probe and met Mumbai Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar, raising a series of doubts over the circumstances that Joseph died in. The commissioner then transferred the probe to the Crime Branch, which is currently investigating the matter. A Crime Branch officer said: “So far, we have recorded statements of several family members and friends of Joseph. We have also asked people who had any knowledge about the incident to come forward so that we could record their statement.”