Surendra Jalan: Family rules out suicide. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

A 45-year-old trader fell to his death from the top floor of a 10-storeyed building on Lindsay Street on Monday night. Police have ruled out foul play, but Surendra Jalan’s family refused to accept that he had committed suicide.

A security guard posted outside the building said he had seen Jalan climb a windowsill on the ninth floor around 11.45pm and had rushed into the building to raise an alarm.

Pedestrians saw him lying on the road around 11.50pm. About Rs 18,000 was found on him. His gold chain and cellphone were missing.

Jalan, the eldest of four brothers, is one of the owners of Raunak Sarees on Madan Chatterjee Street, in Girish Park. The resident of Phoolbagan lived in a joint family with wife Sarita and eight-year-old daughter Vanshika.

Minutes before he was found dead, Jalan was seen on the landing of the building’s staircase, which led to the restaurant-cum-bar on the ninth floor. He was pacing the landing and smoking a cigarette, according to witnesses.

The restaurant authorities said Jalan was sitting by himself in the lounge between 10.30pm and 11pm, smoking continuously. “He seemed very perturbed. Each time we asked him to leave, he said he would as soon as he had finished smoking his cigarette,” said a hotel employee.

“He either fell accidentally or committed suicide. We’ll investigate the matter further if the family lodges a complaint,” said city detective chief Jawed Shamim.

“At 10.10pm, when Sarita called up Surendra, he had said in a hushed tone that he would return home only if he managed to get a taxi. We are clueless why he spoke in that manner. Was he under pressure? This is not a case of suicide,” said Om Dhandhania, Jalan’s brother-in-law.