‘He visited gym day before ending life’

Mumbai: A day before senior police officer Himanshu Roy shot himself at his residence, he had visited a gymnasium in Churchgate and met few of his friends. It is, however, unclear if this was a conscious visit to meet up with friends and acquaintances before taking the extreme step.

Regular gym-goers who knew Roy are in state of shock and they stated that there was no hint of anything being amiss. They recalled Roy as a fitness freak who worked out everyday without fail. Roy was a regular at the QI gym in Eros Theatre building at Churchgate and he would pump iron every morning for an hour. “He would come at 6 am and focus on cardio exercises and weights. We could not believe that he took the extreme step,” said his gym partner, who has been with him since 2002.

While the batch of colleagues who accompanied him was not present at the gym on Friday evening, they confirmed his visit to the gym on Thursday.

“He had started working out at the gym like before and looked well. The illness had, however, taken a toll on the decorated officer and it was visible. There would be people to assist him all the while as he needed the same,” said another gym member. When asked if Roy was pensive or in deep pain, they stated that he was as usual and normal. They stated that they did not see any precursor of the fateful incident ever.

“This was never expected from a man like him. He was strong and a confident person. We all looked up to him when it came to discipline,” added his colleagues. They stated that Roy would never discuss work but was disciplined despite tight schedules.

“I saw him rise from DCP to additional director general. He would tell me on many occasions that with seniority sleeping hours would fluctuate, sometimes to only five hours, but that never deterred him from skipping the workout,” added his gym partner.