Businessman falls to his death in Gulshan

A businessman has died after falling from a 10-storey building in Dhaka.

The incident occurred at the capital's Shahjadpur area in Gulshan at around 2pm on Thursday. 

The deceased was identified as Soleiman alias Sono Mia, 35. He was a father of a girl.

Confirming the matter to Dhaka Tribune, Gulshan police station OC Abul Hasan said Soleiman committed suicide. 

"The victim had suicidal tendencies. It is clear that he committed suicide by jumping from a 10-storey building,” he added. 

There was initially confusion about Soleiman’s death as his family first claimed he had died in a road accident. 

Soleiman was brought into Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in a critical condition. The doctor on duty pronounced him dead at around 4:15pm.

Mohammad Salam Hossain, the elder brother of the deceased, told officials at the DMCH Emergency Department that his brother had been run over by a bus.

But after some time, Salam along with their family lawyer changed their statement, saying Soleiman had committed suicide.

When contacted later on Thursday night, Gulshan OC Abul Hasan told Dhaka Tribune that they had concluded that Soleiman had committed suicide. 

"According to his family, the deceased had attempted to commit suicide before. Today [Thursday], he was eating lunch with them at around 3pm, when at one point he got up from the table, went to the roof of their building and jumped," the OC added.

"We have collected the footage of the CCTV cameras in the building. We saw him [Soleiman] run to the edge of the roof and jump,” he further said.

The OC said Soleiman used to have a business with his brother, but recently had been unemployed. 

“We suspect that he might have been suffering from depression," he added. 

Soleiman’s family has filed a case of unnatural death with Gulshan police station, the OC said.

His body is in Dhaka Medical College morgue awaiting an autopsy, said DMCH police outpost in-charge Inspector Bacchu Miah.