Musicians mourned the death of Karan Joseph, who jumped from a Mumbai high-rise building.
The suicide of musician Karan Joseph in Mumbai's upscale suburb of Bandra has triggered much speculation on social media about the reason. The man at the receiving end of these barbs is Rishi Shah, whose flat the musician was staying in, and in whose presence he jumped off the 12th floor window at 8.30 on Saturday morning.
"It didn't happen that way... he didn't run over to the window, he didn't jump out," Mr Shah, the Chief Executive of CrossBones Media told NDTV. "I heard the window open and I looked over my shoulder. By then, he already had one leg over the railing and he just stepped off very calmly and he looked me right in the face before he jumped," he added, breaking down.
The police said the 29-year-old was depressed and he was inebriated at the time. There have been reports that he was facing financial trouble and threats and demands that the death needs to be properly investigated.
The barrage of allegations, Mr Shah said, was not allowing him to grieve. "I think lots of people are hurting and I understand that there is a lot of pain," he said. "It hurts that people are being so quick to react, but you know it is what it is... He was just a great guy and I wish I could have some time to breathe," he added.
Mr Shah, who turned 43 on Monday, is not celebrating. Instead, he lit the candles brought by Karan Joseph, and listened to a few recordings of the pianist.
Mr Shah said he did not wish to speak in detail about his friend's suicide since the matter was being investigated. But he said Karan Joseph had been troubled that morning.
"I only got the privilege of meeting him on August 5. I think he was the man what we all wish we want to be as a musicians. He was a pure, beautiful, young man. He truly loved music, he truly wanted to share his heart with everybody," Shah told NDTV as he reached for a pack of tissues.