16 September,2017 01:02 PM IST | Mumbai | Suraj Ojha
The deceased pianist's friends from the US and Sri Lanka recount their conversations with him, minutes before getting the news of his death, to the police
Karan Joseph
Investigation in pianist Karan Joseph's suicide is inching ahead, and the police have found out that the 29-year-old tried to get in touch with several of his friends 125 times through various media - calls, messages, WhatsApp and social networking sites - six hours before jumping to his death. However, only two of them answered.
Karan's friend in Portland, USA, Avisa Keskar told the police that she got his call at 7.26 pm (UTC), 7.56 am India time on Saturday. Officers said Keskar, who's just back from the US, told them that she spoke to Karan for nearly 30 minutes.
The last laugh
She said when he first called her, she cut the call, as she was busy with something, and messaged him that she would call him back. However, Karan called a second time almost immediately, she said, and she answered.
According to Keskar, when she asked him how he was doing, he kept laughing. She assumed he was intoxicated and asked him if he was "tripping", to which he said no. At the end of their conversation, Karan asked her if she knew his friend Rishi, to which Keskar replied in the negative.
She also told the police that Karan told her "everyone was tripping on him". Keskar tried to console him, telling him not to worry and that it's all in his head. Karan then went on laughing and hung up after saying goodbye, she said.
Immediately after hanging up, Karan is said to have called her up again and apologised for the behaviour of his friends, who she could hear in the background and who, according to Karan, were intoxicated. Keskar replied "No worries" and their conversation ended.
Music talk
The Bandra police have also questioned Karan's friend in Sri Lanka, identified only as Emanual, who Karan had called minutes before Keskar. The two had spoken for three minutes. Though the police are yet to record his statement, Emanual has told them that his conversation with Karan was only related to a music video shot in Sri Lanka.
Emanual said Karan had asked him about Michael Versa, a musician from England with whom Karan had recorded music nearly three years ago in Sri Lanka. He had wanted Emanual to resend him the music files of their work together, the police were told.
