Le Meridien tragedy: Property dealer dies after 20-floor fall in heart of Delhi; family clueless, cops examine CCTV

NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old property dealer died after allegedly jumping from the 20th floor of Le Meridien Hotel in New Delhi's Connaught Place on Sunday afternoon.

No suicide note was found at the spot or on the Lajpat Nagar resident, police said, adding that he was reportedly under considerable mental stress and suffering from depression.


While an initial probe suggests that the man might have taken his own life, the cops are exploring all possible angles behind his death.

Alerted by staff of the five-star hotel about the incident at 12.40 pm, police found the man lying on the ground. The preliminary enquiry revealed that he had entered the hotel and proceeded to the 20th floor. While access is controlled to other floors, this is not the case for the 20th floor because it houses a restaurant.

The man had stayed at the hotel on Dec 25 and 26 last year before checking out, police found out. While reviewing Sunday's CCTV footage, they saw him moving towards the 20th floor prior to the incident, a senior officer said. However, no one saw him jumping from the building. It was after a loud thud was heard that the hotel staff rushed out and found him lying on the ground. They took him to hospital where he was declared dead.

A police team visited the man's house and met his wife, who claimed she was unaware of any specific reason behind his death. During interactions with other relatives, investigators learned that the man had been involved in property business for several years, but wasn't faring well in recent times. "We also came to know he might have been undergoing medical treatment for depression, which is being verified," the officer said.

Police are interacting with the hotel staff to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the incident. They are in touch with the man's family members to gather additional information and possible clues that may help establish the circumstances behind his death.

TOI reached out to the hotel authorities for a response regarding the incident, but received no reply till late at night.