Dubai: A young engineer from India who fell to his death from a residential tower in Dubai’s Oasis Silicon on Monday, committed suicide, a Dubai Police official said on Thursday.
Brigadier Saeed Bin Sulaiman Al Malik, director of Al Rashidiya police station, said they received a call from the building’s watchman about a man plunging to his death from the 24th floor.
“He fooled the watchman after telling him that he want to rent the apartment. He went alone after taking the key from the watchman before taking off his shoes and mobile phone in the balcony and jumped to death,” Brig Al Malik said in statement.
The man was pronounced dead due to his severe injuries.
Surveillance cameras and forensic doctor exams confirmed that he had committed the suicide.
“He went to the apartment for 12 minutes and then jumped off the balcony,” Brig Al Malik added.
Sabeel Rahman, 25, who hailed from Kerala, was found dead after falling from a building near his worksite, according to Naseer Vatanappally, the social worker who is assisting Rahman’s family for the repatriation of his body.
Rahman, an urban planning engineer with an electrical engineering company, went to the building close to his worksite, said Vatanappally, who personally knows the family of the deceased.
“Apparently, the watchman has said that he [Rahman] went there to see an apartment for renting.”
He said Rahman had been working with the company since August 2018. He was staying with his elder brother’s family in Ras Al Khor.
“He was the youngest of four siblings. Their sisters and parents are back home in Kerala. His body will be repatriated to his native place, Thirur in Malappuram, after the legal procedures are over,” Vatanappally said.
Community reaction
“It is still very difficult to believe that he ended his life,” Vatanappally said upon hearing the police statement.
He said Rahman had shown no indication of depression. Instead, he said, the young man had discussed about his future plans with different people lately.
“His best friend from childhood days, who is also here, told me that they both discussed about going for higher education in the US and last Friday they checked about the fees with some institute. On the day he died, he had chatted with his cousin something related to wedding plans.”
On top of that, he said, he was shocked to see the bill for what could have been the last meal of Rahman, along with his personal belongings returned by the police.
“Along with his pocket diary, site ID card, there was this bill from a restaurant in Silicon Oasis. It showed he bought a chicken burger and an avocado-mango mixed juice at 3.24pm.”
Vatanappally said it felt strange to think that someone who wanted to end his life went to have food minutes before taking the extreme step.
He said it was understandable that Rahman went to the tower looking for a flat to rent as the family was planning to shift to a new apartment and both the brothers had decided to start looking around.
When Gulf News called the restaurant, staff members said they could not recollect if Rahman had bought food from there.
An employee of a supermarket in the building from where Rahman fell said he remembered the time of the incident as 3.20pm. But it is believed to have happened around 4pm, according to other sources.
“There was a huge sound. We were all shocked to find that it was a man falling down. Customers were panicking. The police came in two-three minutes and cordoned off that area,” he said.
Rahman’s body was flown home early morning on Thursday.
“His brother and family accompanied the body. His funeral was held in their native place in Kerala around 10am there,” said Vatanappally.
